Bouwfonds 2004 figures (NL)

Bouwfonds reported a 23.2% rise in revenues, due to strong performances of its mortgage, property finance and property development activities.

In terms of the various revenue lines:

  • Net interest revenue increased by EUR 71 mln to EUR 409 mln. This was driven by a combination of growth in both the residential mortgage portfolio and the property finance portfolio, and improved margins in residential mortgages. The continued favourable interest rate environment had a positive effect on margins. It also had a positive effect on production through higher levels of refinancing.
  • Other revenues rose 29.5% to EUR 246 mln as a result of higher income from property development activities. This improvement was mainly driven by an increase in the sale of residential properties in the Netherlands and France, and the realisation of profit on a commercial development project in Belgium.


Expenses
Operating expenses were up by EUR 42 mln or 17.0% due to higher administrative expenses and to higher staff costs. The higher staff costs were due to a rise in FTEs to support the growth of the business and to higher bonus accruals related to the improved performance. The rise in administrative expenses was related to higher costs for information technology and costs related to special projects such as the implementation of Basel II.

Operating result
The operating result improved by 28.3% to EUR 385 mln. The efficiency ratio improved 2.3 percentage points to 42.9%. RWA rose 14.7% to EUR 22.6 bln as a result of the strong growth in the mortgage and property finance portfolios. This is partly due to the acquisition of a loan portfolio from Staal Bankiers.

Provisions
Provisions doubled to EUR 12 mln.

Net profit
The improved operating result, in combination with a lower tax charge (due to incidental factors) led to a 38.7% increase in net profit to EUR 269 mln.

Revenues
Revenues increased by 13.7% to EUR 183 mln, mainly due to higher property development revenues. In terms of the various revenue lines:
  • Net interest revenue was stable at EUR 108 mln.
  • Net commission income went up EUR 7 mln.
  • Other revenue increased to EUR 70 mln as a result of higher revenues from property development.


Expenses
Operating expenses went up by 36.2% to EUR 94 mln. The increase in expenses was broad-based and was largely seasonal in nature. Staff costs increased due to the costs mentioned above for special projects and a 2.4% rise in FTEs to 1,608 FTEs. Bonus accruals increased as they were aligned with the improvement in performance in 2004.

Operating result
The operating result decreased by 3.3% to EUR 89 mln. The efficiency ratio increased by 8.5 percentage points to 51.4%.

Net profit
Net profit decreased by EUR 12 mln to EUR 53 mln.

Recent developments
On 22 November 2004, Bouwfonds announced that it finalised the acquisition of MAB Group BV. The project portfolios in the field of mixed urban projects and commercial property of both entities will be integrated by 1 February 2005. The alliance creates a strong property development organisation with an excellent market position and complementary activities in the fields of living, working and shopping in the Netherlands and various other European countries.

On 5 January 2005, ABN AMRO announced that it received the final 25% of Bouwfonds shares that were still held by Dutch municipal authorities. ABN AMRO now owns all Bouwfonds shares. ABN AMRO also announced that it will exercise its right, on 1 April 2005, to acquire the Bouwfonds cumulative preference shares issued to Dutch municipal authorities and Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten. On that date, ABN AMRO
will also gain full legal control of Bouwfonds, in addition to the full economic interest acquired in 2000.

Source: ABN AMRO

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