It looks like there might still be a possibility for a positive profit warning here?
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Commission income dropped slightly. Expenses were also up a bit. Nothing special otherwise.
Yes, if you compare it to Q4/23, which includes year-end items. If you compare it to Q1/23, however, commission income is at exactly the same level.
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Actually, total expenses decreased by 1%. If you also factor in inflation, they decreased more in real terms.
I finally managed to read in more detail after the Neste rush. Personnel costs rose 5% vs. Q1/2023, which is the same as for others. Total expenses decreased because the stability fee (€3.2M in 2023) was no longer charged. Apparently, the ECB’s account can’t fit any more.
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I briefly compared all the Q4 figures.
Good earnings report overall.
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Hmm..
My curiosity was piqued, so I checked the matter. So, starting from Q1 last year, the guidance was: “The operating profit for 2023 is expected to be substantially better than in 2022.”
In 2022, on the other hand, the guidance was the same as now, i.e., “The operating profit for 2022 is expected to be at the same level as for 2021.”
Here’s a reminder of what the actual results were:
So, are they predicting that this will be a similar case to 2022?
Edit: I’ll clarify my slightly poor phrasing, @Juurikki. With that sentence, I meant a relative comparison of 2024 vs. 2023 relative to 2022 vs. 2021. Meaning no increase, even though this Q1 showed very strong growth. 2022 was a similar situation otherwise, meaning 22Q1 was clearly stronger (+29%) compared to the previous year, yet the full year 2022 remained below the 2021 level.
This is just a quick glance without deeper reflection or knowledge of the bank. I am a very fresh shareholder and have otherwise followed it only lightly for just under a year. I need to look more closely into the bank’s recent history and reports.
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Didn’t the 2023 financial statements include guidance for 2024, stating that the result would be at the same level as in 2023? I don’t have time to check right now, but that’s how I recall it.
Aki Pyysing discussed Ålandsbanken in his column. 
The guidance is for the same operating profit as last year (2023 EPS 3.18). This would mean that for the remainder of the year, profit would need to be generated at a slightly slower pace than from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. This could well be the case, as both the bank’s deposit and lending volumes have slipped downwards. Additionally, I have heard rumors of tightening bank competition. In other words, banks have apparently been urging their staff to sell loans in addition to high-cost funds.
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The video’s topic is Ålandsbanken’s wind power fund. Also covering solar power and energy storage.
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Transfer of Swedish mortgages from Bank of Åland Plc to Borgo AB completed
The previously announced third transfer of Swedish home mortgage loans from the Bank of Åland Plc (Ålandsbanken Abp) to Borgo AB was completed today. The nominal amount of the mortgage portfolio that was transferred is SEK 3.0 billion. The portfolio consists of loans mediated by Ålandsbanken and ICA Banken. The transfer will not have any significant effect on the Bank of Åland’s earnings, but it frees up liquidity and capital.
However, Ålandsbanken will continue to manage these loans.
In Åland, they don’t seem to practice share buybacks, so a good dividend is at least guaranteed now. Ålandsbanken is unlikely to have any issues with capital adequacy either. As a contrasting example, Alisa Bank needs more capital to be able to issue more loans.
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Borgo’s valuation is 3 billion crowns, reveals DI.
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Bank stocks were being hyped in Kauppalehti. Ålandsbanken was, of course, not included because it has no analyst coverage.
If Ålandsbanken were to pay the same dividend this year, it would yield 8% with the B-share at €33.
The Q1 result was at a record level, so I predict an increasing dividend.
It is clear from the post above that there is also the capacity to pay a higher dividend this year.
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Ålandsbanken’s result edged past the comparison period
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Interest income will definitely fall in H2, but at the same time, AUM is at record levels and IT income is also growing. It should still be a good year.
CEO’s comment 
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Aki Pyysing has written a column containing some information about this company (as well as Citycon), so it might be of interest to those reading this thread.
The Wiklöfs are tenaciously sticking to the line “Numbers Talk and Bullshit Walks”. If the half-year EPS (= earnings per share) of a listed company I controlled grew by 49%, I might allow for a slightly punchier opening sentence than just ”half-year report”. Even if the Q2 vs Q2 EPS growth was only 11 percent. Which Kauppalehti headlined as ”Ålandsbanken’s result squeezed past the comparison period”. In a world of poorly performing stock prices and slightly fallen interest rates, I would consider that to be very well squeezed.
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Please remember to mention any potential paywalls.
And especially if the content is behind a paywall, it would naturally be good to summarize it in your own words. Thank you!
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Ålandsbanken announced yesterday that it is lowering its prime rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.25%. The rate was last changed in September 2023, when the prime rate rose by 0.35 percentage points.
Today, CEO Peter Wiklöf commented on the state of the housing market to Åland Radio. In a recording lasting a couple of minutes, Wiklöf said he is now seeing signs of a pick-up in the Swedish housing market. Consequently, the Finnish housing market could perhaps follow suit, and an improvement might be visible in a few months.
https://alandsradio.ax/nyheter/peter-wiklof-alandska-bostadslan-pa-vag-bli-rejalt-billigare#
Yesterday, the handling of a dispute between Ålandsbanken’s Swedish branch and the insurance company QBE began in the Åland District Court. The dispute relates to crimes involving the Melinsfären real estate company, as a result of which Ålandsbanken is demanding that the insurance company pay over 6 million euros in insurance compensation, as well as late payment interest and legal costs. QBE believes the insurance contract is being misinterpreted and that Ålandsbanken has not provided sufficient evidence regarding the extent of the damage.
https://alandsradio.ax/nyheter/alandsbanken-tvist-forsakringsbolag-rattegangen-inledd
Fintech company Doconomy’s 2023 financial statements and annual report have also become available for review. The annual report can be downloaded for free from the Proff business information site. https://proff.se/foretag/doconomy-ab/stockholm/konsulter/2KH41SAI5YF3I
The year 2023 did not bring a turnaround for the company.
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Personnel costs dropped from 60 million kronor to 43 million as the number of staff decreased. According to page 9, the average number of employees in 2022 was 48, from which it fell to 35 employees in 2023.
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Although the workforce has been reduced, the company still has strong capabilities to innovate and develop products and services.
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However, there was not much to report during or after the reporting period.
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Largest owners (p. 3)
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Total number of shares 686,298
- Dreams AB 15.4%
- Ålandsbanken 14.1%.
- PihlWik2030 13.8%
- Mastercard Europe 10.6%.
The four largest owners total 54%.
In the annual report, Veronica Augustsson is listed as the Chair of the Board, and Peter Wiklöf, Carsten Kengeter, Paul Morgenthaler, and Christopher Bennett are listed as board members.
According to the Allabolag website, a new member, Bogdan Gogu, was appointed to Doconomy’s board in August. According to LinkedIn, he is also a Director at UBS Next Investments.
UBS Next is a relatively new venture capital fund that UBS established in the fall of 2020. The $200 million fund makes investments in early-stage fintech companies and other technology firms.
Looking at previous years’ funding rounds, Doconomy has raised nearly $73 million in funding across three rounds over approximately 4 years.
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Funding round September 2021 ($17m): investors included CommerzVentures and previous owners Mastercard, Wiklöf Holding, and Ålandsbanken (Finextra 23.9.2021)
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Funding round 2022 ($19m): CommerzVentures, Ingka Group’s investment company Ingka Investments, and Citi Ventures. (News 19.1.2022)
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May 2022: ABN Amro Ventures made an investment (13.06.2022)
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Funding round 2024 ($36.8m): UBS Next, CommerzVentures, S&P Global, Motive Ventures, PostFinance, and Tenity participated in the round that concluded at the end of May. (Doconomy 30.5.2024)
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A new fund for Ålandsbanken’s core area of expertise: Nordic value stocks. ÅB’s asset management has had a product called Nordiska Topplista for a long time, featuring 20 stocks — I’ve had quite good experiences with it myself; in fact, it has been the best performer of all my investments.
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1-9/2024 Ålandsbanken’s return on equity >18%.
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