The leasing business of Société Générale
has increased profit despite a decline in new business and a drop
in net income at the French banking group.
Net income for SG Specialised Financial
Services, which includes the Equipment Finance division and fleet
business, was €93m in the first quarter of 2012, up 29%
year-on-year from €72m.
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New business volumes were down 12% against the
first quarter of 2011 to €1.6bn at Equipment Finance and the total
lending book also declined by 3.9% to €18.2bn.
The bank attributed the increase in income,
despite a drop in business, to an improved cost-of-risk ratio, down
29 basis points from the previous three months which a statement by
the group attributed to a recovery in the Italian market.
The total fleet of the group’s operational
vehicle leasing and fleet management business, which includes ALD
Automotive, grew 7.7% compared to 31 March 2011 to reach 922,000
vehicles globally, thanks to steady growth in all the division’s
main European markets, according to the SG report.
The bank said the Specialist Financial
Services unit continued to increase profitability despite
constraints in capital and liquidity, which testified to the
quality of its business.
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By GlobalDataNet income for the Société Générale group was
down 20% to €732m compared to €916m for the first three months of
2011 which chairman and chief executive Frédéric Oudéa described as
healthy given the bank’s moves to strengthen its capital base,
control operating expenses and reduce its liquidity.
The results are an improvement on the bank’s
performance at the
end of 2011 which suffered from exposure to the Greek sovereign
debt crisis.
