Liechtensteinische Landesbank suffered some setbacks in the past financial year, but nevertheless proposes an unchanged dividend distribution to shareholders. The outlook remains positive.
Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) results for 2020 bear the hallmarks of a challenging year: operating income and net profit were down, net new money growth was also down, and return-on-equity showed a downward trend compared to the excellent 2019 financial year, according to a statement released by the Vaduz-based bank on Thursday.
As a result, net income fell 11 percent to 109.8 million Swiss francs ($118.7 million) on operating income of 430.3 million, down 5 percent. Net new money inflows even fell by a fifth to 3.3 billion francs.
Negative Interest Weighs on Business
Nevertheless, management was satisfied with the performance achieved, as conditions were far from ideal. Earnings were negatively impacted by the significant decline in U.S. dollar interest rates, the negative interest rate environment in Switzerland and Europe, and increased loan loss provisions, the group wrote.
«Thanks to our diversified business model, our proven strategy and our solid equity capital base, we have met and mastered the corona crisis. Especially in these challenging times, we are focusing on close relations with our clients. This year we also want to make further innovations in the areas of sustainability and digitalization,» said Group CEO Gabriel Brenna.
Sustainable Dividend Yield
Shareholders will not be further affected by the lower key figures, as the company is aiming for an unchanged dividend of 2.20 francs per share. This translates into a dividend yield of 4.2 percent. In this respect, the LLB will continue to strive to pay a sustainably attractive dividend in the future.
