Financial ratios

Greece's four systemic banks are expected to record profits amounting to 4.7 billion euros this year, against €3.6 billion in 2023, raising the dividend to be distributed close to €2 billion, up from €875 million in 2023.

Hellenic Bank reported a profit of 284.4 million euros for the first nine months of 2024, up from €240.7 million in the same period last year. Return on tangible equity on an annualized basis reached 23.7%, from 26.6% in 2023.

Growth and profit opportunities for the Athens International Airport (AIA) make its stock a very attractive proposition, according to analysts.

Investment bank Axia Ventures gives a buy recommendation on AIA stock, with a target price of €9.10 per share. It notes in its analysis that the recently listed stock is a high-value, low-risk recommendation.

HBC announced Wednesday that it expected net sales revenue to increase 8-12% in 2024, compared to earlier estimates of 6-7%. And this despite the current global climate of uncertainty that forces several firms to be more cautious about sales and revenue growth.

"What profit margin did your business operate at in the last financial year?" This was one of the questions asked by PricewaterhouseCoopers to around 4,700 CEOs of large companies around the world, as part of its 27th annual global survey of their assessments and forecasts for the economy and for the business they lead. Seventy-eight CEOs of Greek companies participated in the survey.

Greek banks are starting to adjust their dividend policy to the European average, with the approval of the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism of the dividend distribution for last year, for the first time in 16 years.

The Cyprus banking sector experienced a significant surge in profitability by the end of 2023, according to the key financial indicators published by the Central Bank of Cyprus (CBC).

National Bank, Greece's second-largest lender by market value, on Tuesday reported higher net earnings in the first nine months of 2023 compared with the same period a year ago as net interest income rose.

NBG, 40% owned by the country's HFSF bank rescue fund, said net earnings reached 791 million euros from €680 million in the first nine months of 2022.

Greek banks have long been on the market's radar following their turnaround with a return to profitability, an impressive boost to earnings from the ECB's rate hikes, a significant decline in NPE ratios and management estimates for dividend distribution after many years.

The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) has announced a decision to tighten the conditions for some housing loans as part of the measures aimed at strengthening macro-financial stability.

The loan-to-value ratio has been tightened by 75 percent and set at 22.5 percent from a previous 90 percent for those who want to buy a second home.