Cassa depositi e prestiti: the Board approves financial statements for 2012
Press release

Cassa depositi e prestiti: the Board approves financial statements for 2012

net income up 77%, to more than €2.8 billion new lending and investment equal to 1.5% of Italian GDP assets of more than €300 billion shareholders’ equity reaches €16.

  • net income up 77%, to more than €2.8 billion
  • new lending and investment equal to 1.5% of Italian GDP
  • assets of more than €300 billion
  • shareholders’ equity reaches €16.8 billion

 

Rome, 20 March 2013 - Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Spa (CDP SpA) announces that the Board of Directors, meeting today under the chairmanship of Franco Bassanini, approved the 2012 annual report, which contains the financial statements that will be submitted for approval to the Shareholders' Meeting called for 17 April 2013.

For the parent company, CDP, the year ended with net income up 77%, to €2.853 billion. The following provides additional key information on performance during the year.

In 2012 new lending and investment equal to 1.5% of Italian GDP

Last year CDP posted new lending and investment totalling more than €22 billion, nearly 1.5% of Italian GDP. This is the highest level ever achieved by CDP SpA, an increase of 35% compared with the €16.5 billion mobilised in 2011.

CDP thus nearly met the targets for the 2011-2013 Business Plan a full year in advance, as the plan called for new resources for the economy of more than €40 billion. In the light of the results for 2012, that target has been revised upwards to more than €50 billion in three years, more than 3% of GDP, underscoring CDP’s counter-cyclical role.

In 2012 Cassa Depositi e Prestiti reacted to the challenging economic and financial environment by adjusting the mix of lending and investment among public entitiesinfrastructure and enterprises, increasing the proportion ofinvestments in equity, alongside its traditional lending operations:

  • Public entities. Owing to the constraints on the public finances, the demand for loans from public entities fell sharply. As a result, lending declined to about €3.3 billion, compared with €6.2 billion in 2011. CDP responded to the decrease in lending by announcing two new mechanisms designed to help public entities find the resources they need for investment: the Fondo per la valorizzazione degli attivi immobiliari (FIV) and – within the Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI) – the Utilities special purpose vehicle, dedicated to the equity holdings of local governments. Both of the initiatives were allocated resources of €1 billion.
  • Infrastructure. Lending in the infrastructure segment amounted to about €2.7 billion (+27%), thanks to a doubling of the number of works and projects financed compared with 2011.
  • Enterprises. Lending in support of Italian enterprises exceeded €6.3 billion (+61%). The rise is mainly attributable to the new resources made available by CDP for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME support fund with a value of €18 billion), the Export Bank system (worth €4 billion), and the funds dedicated to post-earthquake reconstruction in Abruzzo and Emilia(respectively worth €2 billion and €12 billion).
  • Equity investments. In 2012 CDP acquired equity investments of more than €12 billion. In acquiring about 30% ofSnam, CDP confirmed its position as a strategic shareholder in the country’s energy infrastructure. With the acquisition of SaceSimest and Fintecna, CDP laid the foundations for the creation of a national partner in support of exports and the international expansion of Italian firms and a centre of real estate expertise to support public entities in leveraging their property holdings. In 2012 other major acquisitions were also carried out through the Fondo Strategico Italiano, which entered into a €2 billion joint venture with Qatar Holding to invest in Italian companies in key “Made in Italy” industries and announced the entry of the Bank of Italy as a shareholder.

 

Financial position

The expansion of CDP’s lending and equity investment in support of the economy was mirrored by an increase in assetsto over €300 billion (+12% compared with the end of 2011).

Liquidity increased to €139 billion (+8%), while loans to customers and banks expanded by 2% to €100 billion, compared with a contraction in lending by banks overall.

Postal funding amounted to more than €233 billion (+7%). Postal savings remains a major component of household savings, amounting to about 14% of that aggregate at 31 December 2012.

Equity investments and shares expanded sharply (+54%) to €30 billion, as a result of the major investments made during the year.

Shareholders’ equity amounted to €16.8 billion, up 16%, the result of the strong performance of CDP.

 

Performance and performance ratios

The large increase in net income, which rose to €2.853 billion from €1.612 billion in 2011, was mainly driven by the substantial rise (+51%) in net interest income (about €3.522 billion) as the rates on loans outpaced the cost of funding. The positive trend was also confirmed by developments in gross income. Excluding the non-recurring gain of about €485 million on the partial disposal of Eni shares during the year, CDP’s net income would still have risen by about 50%.

The positive performance kept efficiency high (the cost/income ratio declined to 3%, compared with 4.6% in 2011) and boosted the return on capital employed (ROE at 19.7%, compared with 11.7% in 2011).

 

HIGHLIGHTS FOR CDP SPA (millions of euros) 2012       2011

RECLASSIFIED BALANCE SHEET DATA          
Total assets 305,431       273,586
Cash and cash equivalents and other treasury investments 139,062       128,615
Loans to customers and banks 100,508       98,591
Equity investments and shares 30,570       19,826
Postal funding 233,631       218,408
Other direct funding 16,462       17,126
Shareholders' equity 16,835       14,469
           
RECLASSIFIED PERFORMANCE DATA          
Net interest income 3,522       2,329
Gross income 3,653       2,030
Operating income 3,530       1,939
Net income 2,853       1,612
 
OPERATING STRUCTURE          
Average no. of employees 512       486
 

 

 CDP Group

The consolidated financial statements at 31 December 2012 show net income pertaining to the shareholders of the parent company in the amount of €2.924 billion up 35% compared with 2011. Total assets reached €328.551 billion, an increase of 14% compared with 2011, while equity pertaining to shareholders of the parent company amounted to €18.183 billion, up from €15.525 billion  in 2011.

The 2012 Annual Report accompanied by the statements pursuant to Article 154 bis, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Financial Intermediation, as well as the reports of the external audit firm and the Board of Auditors will be made available to the public at the registered office and published in the CDP website in accordance the statutory deadline.

 Convocation of ordinary shareholders’ meeting

CDP has called an ordinary shareholder’s meeting for 17 April 2013. On the agenda is, in addition to approval of the annual financial results, the renewal of the Board of Directors and the Board or Auditors, as well as the integration of the auditing firm’s remuneration.

 

The manager responsible for preparing the corporate financial reports, Andrea Novelli, declares pursuant to paragraph 2 of Article 154-bis of the Consolidated Law on Financial Intermediation that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to that in the accounting documentation, books and records.

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