Despite the recession and months of
depressing headlines, a glance at some of last year’s financial
results for Europe’s principal lessors would suggest things are not
so bad after all.
Headlining the good news, Italian
lessor UniCredit Leasing saw pre-tax profit rise by 22 percent to
€354 million last year, with total revenue increasing by 11 percent
to €704 million.
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Operating costs did rise, however,
from €243 million to €250 million, driven primarily by expansion in
the CEE markets, the lessor said.
Fees and associated products fell by
around 3 percent in total, but the company did note that it had
seen “good growth” in its insurance products offering.
In neighbouring France, Crédit
Agricole Leasing also reported “solid” business, with new business
rising by 18 percent to reach €5.7 billion in contract volumes.
Last year, the French lessor continued
to expand international operations, acquiring an important stake in
the Greek lessor Emporiki Leasing, as well as establishing an
Italian leasing subsidiary, CA Leasing Italia.
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By GlobalDataPre-tax profit rose nearly 15 percent
to reach €72 million, matching the rise in the lessor’s net banking
income of 16.8 percent, to €278 million.
However, at CA’s rival BNP Paribas,
things are not so good at the Equipment Solutions division – which
includes BNP Lease Group as well as the Artegy, Arius and Arval
subsidiaries. It saw pre-tax income fall to €180 million, down by
around 50 percent, from €361 million in 2007.
The division saw a marked decline in
the fourth quarter, where it made a €14 million loss, attributed
largely to a rise in the cost of risk as well as operational
expenses. It is noteworthy that the cost of risk nearly doubled in
2008 which, in addition to falling used car prices, has left BNP
Paribas Lease Group in its current position.
Meanwhile, in what it called an
“extremely challenging year”, ING saw pre-tax profit at its leasing
and factoring arm fall to €119 million, down 22 percent from €153
million in 2007.
The lessor did continue to increase
its portfolio size, as well as its income level, by 2 percent to
reach €406 million, despite declining residual values, which
particularly hit the ING Car Lease result.
Growth was driven by higher volumes in
Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Hungary and Russia, the
lessor said.
