Metro Bank returns to profitability in H2

(Sharecast News) - Retail and commercial bank Metro Bank said on Thursday that it had returned to profit in H2 as it continued its pivot towards higher margin business. Metro Bank said underlying pre-tax profits had surged 148% in H2 to £12.8m, while total underlying revenues were up 15% in the half at £269.5m.

However, for the year as a whole, total underlying revenues were down 8% year-on-year at £503.5m and underlying pre-tax losses had narrowed just 17% to £14.0m.

Assets fell 21% year-on-year to £17.58bn, while loans were reduced by 27% to £9.01bn and deposits slipped 7% to £14.45bn. Metro's loan-to-deposit ratio contracted 17 basis points to 62%.

Chief executive Daniel Frumkin said: "It has been a transformational year for Metro Bank as we made substantial progress against our strategy, ending the period ahead of guidance, profitable, and with strong momentum going forward."

"We have successfully continued our pivot towards higher margin business in the form of corporate, commercial and SME lending and specialist mortgages, while also taking significant steps to reduce our costs and optimising our funding model. We have simplified and strengthened our balance sheet, and as a result, end the year with a robust capital position."

As of 1025 GMT, Metro Bank shares had slumped 8.49% to 89.50p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com