Net profit increased by 4% compared to 2018, reaching 258.9 million francs. The group proposes an increase of 7% in the dividend.
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Vontobel again achieved a good result in the 2019 financial year. Despite the still difficult operating environment, which continued to be affected by low interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty, markets with low transaction volumes and strong competition, Vontobel stayed the course. At the end of 2019, Vontobel also laid the foundations for new growth for the future. She is taking steps to become a focused and internationally active investment manager, who offers her clients in-depth, global investment expertise. Vontobel will use the power of technology in a targeted manner to provide its customers with a first-rate personalized experience. Vontobel has positioned itself so that all companies think and act exclusively from the customer’s perspective.
Vontobel is in a position of strength. This is reflected in its financial result for 2019, with net profit under IFRS standards up 14% over the previous year, to 265.1 million Swiss francs. Adjusted for one-off exceptional items such as the integration costs linked to Notenstein La Roche, net profit amounted to 258.9 million francs, an increase of 4% compared to the 2018 adjusted result. the clients advised amounted to 226.1 billion francs at the end of 2019 and were therefore clearly higher than those of the previous year (192.6 billion francs). This increase is partly due to the assets of clients invested according to sustainability criteria, which experienced growth twice as strong as other assets under management in 2019. The volume of sustainable investments at Vontobel rose from 23.3 billion francs in 2018 to 30.7 billion francs. The net inflow of fresh money at group level amounted to 11.7 billion francs (5.0 billion) and was mainly driven by asset management. This corresponds to a growth in the inflow of fresh money of 6.9%, thus exceeding the target range of 4 to 6%.
The return on equity for 2019 also exceeded the medium-term objective, going from 13.0% in 2018 to 14.2%. The cost / income ratio, adjusted for exceptional items, was 75.1%. Vontobel has set itself the target of a cost / income ratio of less than 72% for 2020. At the same time, Vontobel has always stressed that ensuring long-term growth opportunities takes precedence over optimizing short-term costs.
Dividend increase
Given the company’s good results, the board of directors will propose to the general meeting of shareholders on March 30, 2020 a 7% increase in the dividend, which will increase to 2.25 Swiss francs per share compared to the previous year (2.10 Swiss francs). The shareholders will thus directly participate in the positive performance of the company. In total, Vontobel has distributed CHF 1.2 billion to its shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks over the past ten years.
Vontobel’s solid equity position, which greatly exceeds minimum regulatory requirements, underscores its financial strength. At the same time, it forms the basis for further growth. At the end of 2019, the BIS CET1 ratio was 13.5% and the BIS ratio of total equity was 19.9%.
“Our good financial result confirms the positive trend in growth and profits which was already visible in mid-2019. Last year, Vontobel stayed the course and the investments we have made in recent years in new talent and new technologies have paid off. In the future, Vontobel will continue to focus on growth. As an investment manager, we want to quickly and actively seize growth opportunities resulting from the growing demand for professional solutions in all client groups and changes in client behavior. With our focused approach, we want to continue to distinguish Vontobel from its competitors in the future – by being number one in terms of performance quality and customer experience, ”said Zeno Staub, CEO of Vontobel.
Vontobel remains committed to the growth targets for 2020, which were raised last year. “We recognize that since the definition of our objectives, the operational environment has not become easier and we expect that economic conditions and the geopolitical climate will remain difficult in 2020. Vontobel is committed to achieving profitable growth , even in difficult markets, and to offer the best possible experience to its customers thanks to the absolute priority that we give them. This will also translate into the new capital market targets that we will present in July 2020 and which we will explain in detail during our Investor Day in September 2020. Going forward, we will also continue our strategy of investing in growth – and therefore also in employees and technology – while managing our costs, ”added Zeno Staub.
Please note: this text has been translated with an automatic tool.
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