DLL posts net profit of €180m for FY 2020

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LL, a global provider of asset-based financial solutions, reported a net profit of €180m ($206m) for full-year 2020.

Despite the difficult economic environment and softening business demand, the company grew its portfolio to €34.9bn ($42.9bn), an increase of 2% when excluding currency movements. This was achieved under challenging market conditions and supported by broad diversification across multiple industry sectors and more than 30 countries.

Bill Stephenson, chief executive and chairman of the executive board, said: “This past year was unprecedented, and both our business model and global workforce displayed amazing adaptability and resilience.

“It was reassuring to see that our underlying financial performance remained solid and allowed us to maintain our strong presence in the market. I am proud of our efforts to support our customers and help them overcome so much adversity during this crisis year.”

Despite the significant impact the pandemic had on credit impairments, the company reported net income of €1.5bn ($1.7bn), which represented almost 6 per cent growth over the prior year.

Marc Dierckx, chief finance officer and member of the executive board, said: “We remain comfortable with the overall quality of the portfolio and the long-term outlook on performance.” On a year-on-year basis, impairments almost doubled to €409m ($467m), representing 121 basis points of the average portfolio. “The economic hardships brought on by the pandemic limited the ability of some customers to service their debt,” Dierckx said.

“However, the resilience of our business model, coupled with our strong capitalisation, allowed us to successfully navigate through this period of uncertainty and deliver a net profit,” he added.