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BOV reports pre-tax profit of €148.2 million, up 40.9% The Valletta Bank Group has published its financial statements for January to June 2024, stating that it had a “strong financial performance with a pre-tax profit of €148.2 million, an increase of 40.9% compared to the same period last year.”

The increase in profitability was said to have come from strong growth in interest income and, to a lesser extent, from net fee and commission flows, aided by continued efforts to improve cost effectiveness and efficiency.

Meanwhile, the bank said it “will continue to pursue its balance sheet optimization strategy, shifting short-term liquidity to long-term assets to ensure long-term profitability.”

The bank said its net interest income (NII) was €193.6 million, up 21.1% from the same period last year. Net fee and commission income rose 6.5% to €36.7 million, with positive results in core income areas such as credit-related and trade finance businesses, as well as brokerage and other investment-related activities.

The bank said operating costs fell by €2.3 million to €90.7 million, with human capital costs being the main driver, followed by technology-related expenses.

The bank added that its cost management efforts have resulted in cost reductions across most cost categories, with the cost-to-income ratio falling significantly from 47.9% in June 2023 to 40.7% in June 2024.

The group explained that its strategy to optimize its balance sheet remains centered on its core financing business and the management of excess liquidity. “The Group Treasury continued to perform well, supported by higher portfolio trading volumes, improved net interest margins and interest earned on cash deposits held with the central bank.”

While cash and short-term funding decreased by EUR 1.1 billion compared to the end of December 2023, portfolio investments increased by EUR 723.2 million.

At the end of the first half of the year, total customer loans and advances amounted to EUR 6.6 billion, a net increase of EUR 374 million, with both commercial and retail loans maintaining high growth levels. On the liabilities side, customer deposits increased slightly by EUR 14.9 million to EUR 12.2 billion.

The bank said this resulted in a significant increase in the group’s total loans to deposits ratio from 51.7% at the end of 2023 to 54.7% at the end of June 2024, in line with the bank’s long-term direction.

In view of the above developments, the bank said its liquidity coverage ratio is maintained at 357% as of June 30, 2024. The non-performing loan ratio is reduced to below 3% by June 2024 through a sustained focus on asset quality and related impairments.

The bank said that the total group equity amounted to 1.3 billion euros, an increase of 68.7 million euros, while the net asset value per share at the end of June 2024 was 2.3 euros per share (December 2023: 2.2 euros per share).