Allied Irish Banks 2019 results are in line with analyst forecasts with a 4.5% dip in pre-tax profits to €1.25bn.
But despite the fall in profits AIB says that it remains on track to meet its medium term targets.
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And AIB is increasing its dividend by 42% to €0.17 per share. This equates to a dividend pay-out ratio of 44%.
That is good news for the Republic of Ireland government: it retains a 71% stake in AIB.
The results highlight a number of positives in fiscal 2019.
Total new lending in fiscal 2019 rises by 15% to €12.1bn and new mortgage lending is up by 16%. This results in a market share of 32%. AIB’ 2018 market shares for main personal current accounts and personal loans are 37% and 22% respectively.
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By GlobalDataOn the other hand, margin pressure results in AIB’s net interest margin inching down by 3 basis points to 2.47%.
AIB is also taking a Brexit-related provision of up to €163m.
Allied Irish Banks 2019 results: highlights
In 2018 costs were stable at €1.4bn and in line with AIB’s expectations resulting in a cost-income ratio of 53%.
Digital highlights include a 10% rise in active digital customers to 1.38 million.
In addition, over 20% of new to bank AIB personal accounts are now opened through via the mobile channel.
AIB Mobile Payments rises by 39% in 2018. And notably, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Fitbit pay transactions account for around 10% of all contactless payments.
During 2018 AIB launched a number of customer initiatives delivering enhanced customer experience. Examples include Express Mortgage Journey generating a fourth quarter net promoter score of +61. AIB also launched Fitbit Pay, its latest addition to Apple Pay and Google Pay within its digital wallet. The bank also rolled out VoiceID using biometrics for customer authentication.
“Across all the key metrics, the business has performed well during the year. The quality of the balance sheet continues to improve as we work through our legacy non-performing exposures. Our 2018 NIM, NII and costs are on track with our medium term targets,” says Bernard Byrne, AIB CEO.
