Evli Bank Plc's Interim Report January-March 2018

EVLI BANK PLC STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE APRIL 25, 2018, AT 10.00 AM

Evli Bank Plc's Interim Report January-March 2018: Stable growth continued

• In the Wealth Management and Investor Clients segment operating profit grew considerably and was EUR 4.3 million (1-3/2017 EUR 2.9 million)
• Operating profit in the Advisory and Corporate Clients segment improved slightly and was EUR 0.5 million (EUR 0.2 million)
• The trading activities through the own balance sheet were less successful during the review period, resulting in a decline in returns from investment activities in the Group Operations segment.

January-March 2018

• The Group's net revenue increased five percent to EUR 17.0 million (EUR 16.1 million)
• The Group's operating profit was EUR 5.2 million (EUR 4.6 million)
• Evli's diluted earnings per share were EUR 0.24 (EUR 0.15) and return on equity was 34.1 percent (21.4%)
• Net assets under management increased slightly year on year and totaled a record EUR 11.4 billion (EUR 11.3 billion) at the end of March
• The proportion of recurring revenue to operating costs improved to 120 percent (112%). 

Outlook for 2018

The risks associated with the general trend in the equity and fixed income markets are high due to the prevailing uncertainty on the markets. A continued decline in equity prices or a reduction in investors' risk appetite would have a negative impact on the company's profit performance. Demand for Evli's products has remained stable and assets under the Group's management have grown substantially in recent years, which would soften the result-impact of any reversal of the market.

There has been positive development in the demand for advisory services, and its outlook for 2018 is stable. Customer's demand for Evli's products and services has developed positively, which has also led to a systematic increase in lending. In the advisory business and in own investment activities, substantial fluctuations in annual returns are possible.

Thanks to successful and stable development at the beginning of the year, we estimate that the result for the 2018 financial year will be clearly positive.

Key Figures

Maunu Lehtimäki, CEO

The year 2018 started strongly. The first-quarter revenue and operating profit improved significantly on the previous year. At the same time, despite the decline of the equity markets, the client assets under management increased to a new record of EUR 11.4 billion. The increase in client assets was boosted by successful customer acquisition activities, positive net subscriptions to funds and new product launches, particularly in the strategically important area of alternative investment products. The development was also positive in the area of corporate clients. Evli managed to grow its business activities in corporate finance, investment research and incentive systems.

The successful sales activities and new products contributed positively to the profit performance. In the first quarter, our revenue grew five percent and our operating profit correspondingly by almost 15 percent as the operating margin exceeded 30 percent. The majority of the revenue growth is a result of the trend in assets under management. As a consequence, our strategic indicator, the ratio of our recurring revenue in relation to the Group's operating expenses, also improved, reaching the level of 120 percent. When the profit of associated companies is included, the Group's return on equity rises to over 30 percent.

To target growth alongside the promotion of our traditional business, we have continued our efforts in international fund sales, development of alternative investment products and the creation of a simply unique customer experience. During the first quarter we made visible progress in each strategic frontier. In international sales, we launched the distribution of funds in Germany and continued sales efforts in our other core market areas. In alternative investment products, we launched the Evli Healthcare I Ky fund, which invests in care facilities. At the establishment phase, over EUR 70 million in investments were collected. We also implemented a new equity round in the EAI Residential I Ky fund, which invests in leased premises. We have focused on improving the client experience by investing in personnel training and the quality of client material. We believe that the client experience is created through numerous small matters, and we are now focusing on these.

Digitalization can now be seen everywhere. The attainment of efficiency, client experience and regulation require the sector to develop digital service models and streamline processes. Evli is working on numerous projects in these sub-areas. Our goal is, by the end of the year, to complete a significant number of these reforms that aim to streamline our processes. However, we believe that the development of digital services will continue long into the future with the rapid development of technology and the changing needs of our clients.

Our excellent performance means that the outlook for 2018 is very promising. We will continue to focus on our strategic priorities and concentrate on achieving stable and profitable growth. We expect that on this basis, the result for 2018 will be clearly in the positive.

EVLI BANK PLC

For additional information, please contact:

Maunu Lehtimäki, CEO, Evli Bank Plc,  tel. +358 (9) 4766 9304 or +358 (0)50 553 3000, maunu.lehtimaki@evli.com
Juho Mikola, CFO, Evli Bank Plc, tel. +358 (0)9 4766 9871 or +358 (0)40 717 8888, juho.mikola@evli.com

Evli Bank Plc

Evli is a bank specialized in investments that helps institutions, corporations and private persons increase their wealth. The product and service offering includes mutual funds, asset management and capital markets services, alternative investment products, investment research, administration of incentive programs and Corporate Finance services. The company also offers banking services that support clients' investment operations. Evli is the highest ranked and most used institutional asset manager in Finland*.

Evli has a total of EUR 11.4 billion in client assets under management (net 3/2018). The Evli Group's equity capital totals EUR 65.9 million and its BIS capital adequacy ratio is 15.4 percent (March 31, 2018). The company has more than 200 employees. Evli Bank Plc's B shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.

*TNS Sifo Prospera External Asset Management Finland 2017, SFR Scandinavian Financial Research Institutional Investment Services, Finland 2017 (shared first place).

Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd, main media, www.evli.com