Hamburg Commercial Bank AG (HCOB) had to make significant provisions in the 2024 financial year. Profit fell by 42%.
Hamburg Mittelstandsbank reported earnings before taxes of € 248 million compared to € 427 million in the previous year. Although the customer business continued to be profitable, high one-off effects from provisions had a noticeable negative impact on earnings, HCOB has now announced.
As income taxes of € 20 million (2023: € 156 million) were significantly lower than in the previous year, consolidated net income after taxes amounted to € 228 million (2023: € 271 million).
“Hamburg Commercial Bank performed well operationally in 2024,” says CEO Luc Popelier. The key figures for liquidity, portfolio quality and capital confirmed the diversified business approach.
The Group balance sheet total grew by 7% to € 33.6 billion (2023: € 31.5 billion). This was mainly due to organic growth in the loan book, particularly in the Project Finance and Corporates segments, as well as the acquisition of a shipping loan portfolio. The business transactions in the Aviation segment, which was established at the end of 2023, also made a moderate contribution to balance sheet growth.
The “Global Transportation” segment, which now comprises the Shipping and Aviation divisions, generated earnings after taxes of € 64 million compared to € 81 million in the previous year.
HCOB’s new business totaled € 1.8 billion (2023: € 1.3 billion), of which € 1.4 billion, or € 100,000 more than in the previous year, was attributable to the Shipping division. The acquisition of the NIBC portfolio (€ 0.9 billion) in June 2024 is not included in this figure, but is included in the segment assets, which increased from € 2.4 billion to € 3.7 billion.
