HPB Group Profit in the First Quarter Increases by 5.5 Percent

All members of the HPB Group reported a profit after tax in the first quarter. The bank achieved a net profit of 44.6 million kuna, HPB Housing Savings Bank 2.4 million kuna, HPB Real Estate 386 thousand kuna, and HPB Invest 476 thousand kuna.

The Hrvatska poštanska banka (HPB) Group recorded a net profit of 47.8 million kuna in the first quarter of this year, što is 5.5 percent higher than in the same period last year, according to the bank’s report.

During this period, HPB’s net interest income amounted to 119.9 million kuna, which was about 3 percent lower than in the same period last year. Net profit from fees and commissions was 44.5 million kuna, approximately at the same level as in the first quarter a year earlier.

In the report published on Friday, HPB Group states that its assets decreased by 0.2 percent in the first quarter, continuing the optimization of its structure.

The excess liquidity accumulated at the end of 2015 was, in fact, placed in loans to clients, which increased by 1.3 percent, and liquid securities, with a growth of 6.8 percent – mainly bonds and treasury bills – in order to maximize the return on assets.

The report highlights the bank’s performance with the population as loans increased by 4.7 percent, with housing loans rising by 17.2 percent, partly because citizens chose HPB as a partner for refinancing loan obligations with a currency clause.

The HPB Group, besides the parent company, Hrvatska poštanska banka, includes HPB Housing Savings Bank, HPB Invest, and HPB Real Estate. All members of the HPB Group reported a profit after tax in the first quarter. The bank achieved a net profit of 44.6 million kuna, HPB Housing Savings Bank 2.4 million kuna, HPB Real Estate 386 thousand kuna, and HPB Invest 476 thousand kuna.

In addition to the subsidiaries, in which HPB is the founder and 100 percent owner, the consolidated balance sheet also includes the results of H1 Telekom, in which the bank has a controlling ownership stake of 58.2 percent, acquired in the pre-bankruptcy settlement process through the exchange of receivables for equity.