Deutsche Postbank reports improving results
Chairman of the management board Stefan Jütte has expressed his confidence that Deutsche Postbank will record a net profit in its 2010 annual results. Deutsche Postbank AG is continuing its recovery. In the first half of the year, it generated a profit before tax of €225m (previous year: loss before tax of € 100m). The second quarter accounted for €94m thereof (prior year period: € 29m).
Stefan Jütte, chairman of the management board, is confident that fiscal year 2010 will produce “a positive result overall. However, based on the current cautious assessment, we do not expect the earnings level of the first six months to continue in the second half of the year.” According to Jütte, the reasons for this are the very positive development of income in the first half of the year, ongoing uncertainty regarding the development of risk positions and the recent investment in the branch network, which is likely to lead to higher administrative expenses in the second half of the year.
Postbank made further progress with implementing its Postbank4Future strategy program: it has taken over 277 branches of Deutsche Post and restructured its key product, the checking account. As a result thereof, Postbank has improved its customer services and its competitive position. In its customer business, the bank posted a substantial increase in sight deposits and strong new business in the area of home savings contracts and securities in the first half of 2010.
The number of existing private checking accounts remained virtually unchanged as against the end of the previous year at over 4.9m. Thus, Postbank maintained its position as largest provider in the German market. Its market share is around 5.3%.
Sight deposits of private and business customers were up 11.4% to €19.5bn compared with June 30, 2009. Since the end of the year alone, sight deposits have increased by around €1bn.
Savings deposits totaled €56.4bn at the end of June 2010, an increase of 0.9% compared to the June 2009 figure. Gross new business slowed down as expected, amounting to €4.1bn, after the record volume of €9.4bn achieved in the same period of the previous year.
