Ljubljana, 14 May (STA) - Delavska Hranilnica, a small bank that is co-owned by trade unions, made EUR 5.48m in net profit in 2017, which is virtually flat compared to the year before. Gross profit reached EUR 6.7m and profit from core business EUR 3.7m, which is the highest to date, the bank said in its annual report.
The bank said it had meet its goals last year despite demanding conditions on the banking and financial markets, including the tax rate rise from 17% to 19%. This was one of the reasons, the bank's net profit rose by only 0.5% to the EUR 5.5m.
Most of the profit will go for organic strengthening of the capital, which will provide the basis for growing business, the bank said.
Last year, the bank's net interest income rose by 2% and net commissions by 34%.
It generated EUR 1.49m in revenue from provisions and impairments.
Loan activities also grew last year, by 15.7%, with loans to companies rising by 34% and loans to households by 4%.
Deposits by companies rose by 34% and deposits by households by 14%.
Total assets of the bank, in which trade unions hold 42%, rose by 19.2 to EUR 1.19bn.
Delavska Hranilnica plans to reach a 6% market share this year. Return on capital before tax is to rise to between 7% and 8%, and loans are to increase by at least 8%.
Other major plans for this year include continued efforts to sell the bank's 60.62% stake in dairy Pomurske Mlekarne.
The latest data shows the bank made EUR 1.16m in net profit in the first three months of this year and increased total assets by 3%.
Loans to households increased by 2% and to companies by 3%. Meanwhile, deposits by household increased by almost 4% and by companies by 1%.
Net interest rose by 4% compared to the same period last year, and net fees by 32%.