UniCredit dividends: good news for the shareholders of Piazza Gae Aulenti came from the same CEO of the Italian bank, Andrea Orcel.
In an interview released to Bloomberg Television by Davos, present at the forum World Economic Forum (WEF)Andrea Orcel said he believes UniCredit may have room to disburse to shareholders, both in the form of distribution of coupons that with buyback operations, remuneration on profits in 2022 higher than in 2021.
Orcel further said that credit losses are still going downdespite the expected economic shock, caused by inflation and rate hikes by central banks.
UniCredit: Orcel aims higher on dividends
“We see uncertainty, we all anticipate a potential shock, but the indicators are all positive. The stock of NPLs is going down and the cost of risk is still compressingOrcel said.
UniCredit will be the first Italian bank to communicate results for 2022 and for the last quarter of the year, next January 31st.
Regarding dividends, Orcel has mentioned that previously “Our ambitions related to distribution of capital for 2022 they were in line with or higher than those of 2021″; no, “based on the data we have available, relating to the first nine months, we believe those numbers could be higher“.
Bloomberg recalls that last year UniCredit paid remuneration to shareholders, in the form of dividends and share buybacks, of 3.75 billion euros, equal to 100% of the underlying profit of 2021, in line with Orcel’s strategy, which primarily focuses on distributing capital to shareholders.
Orcel has also promised to hit the target of distributing a payout of one value exceeding 16 billion euros, in three years, even in case of “a severe recession”.
Last December, in an interview with CNBC, Andrea Orcel expressed himself as follows:
“The cruising speed must remain the same and we must replicate 2022 as much as possible in 2023. I think we are positioned to do so. In 2022 we de facto achieved all the goals of 2024 or we will achieve them when we close the year. The challenge in 2023 is that we can keep them,” Orcel said, confirming his trust in UniCredit.
The banker had illustrated his outlook for 2023 also speaking of the bank’s presence in Russia.
Orcel on Europe’s recession, the ECB and MPS
In recent days, speaking from Davos, where the World Economic Forum is underway, Orcel addressed various topics, such as those of the recession in Europe, the ECB and interest rates, stating that the Eurozone couldmanage to dodge a recession.
Regarding the Eurotower and inflation, the CEO said that “Europe is grappling with a different kind of inflation than that of the United States“, as “mainly unleashed” the dynamics of interest “the supply of energy and foodstuffs”.
“Consequently – added the CEO of UniCredit – what the ECB is trying to do to deal with inflation is to bring down the rest of the question, but obviously this has a disproportionate impact, let’s call it that, on the economy, beyond these commodities“.
When asked about the future of Mps, Orcel had already told CNBC microphones that he believed that “Monte dei Paschi had “took a different direction in strategy”adding that UniCredit, at the moment, goes its own way:
“They’ve raised capital, they’re rationalizing the bank, they’re restructuring it – pointed out the CEO of Piazza Gae Aulenti – They’re doing a good job. So they have to do this, and then we’ll see“.
Like this Yes, I rode in today’s note he summarizes what emerged from the interviews given by the number one of UniCredit:
“In some statements left on the sidelines of the WEF in Davos, the CEO of Unicredit Orcel once again opened up the possibility that the remuneration of shareholders on 2022 profits could be greater than that recognized last year, equal to 3.75 billion (of which 2.6 billion through buyback and the rest through dividend)“.
Andrea Lisi of Equita SIM recalled that “already with the presentation of the third quarter 2022 results, UniCredit had defined the target of a distribution on 2022 profits at least in line with those of 2021, with
a mix between buyback and dividend not yet defined“.
“In our estimates – continued Lisi – we assume an overall capital distribution substantially in line with the €3.75 billion (13% of the market cap) recognized last year, of which 1.7 billion in the form of dividends (6% yield)”.
Moreover, “in the light of significant capital endowment of the bank and the dowry of overlays available (c.1.3 billion), we believe that – in the current interest rate context and in the absence of a deep recession – Unicredit may be in a position to achieve the plan target of overall distribution to shareholders in area 16 billion“.
Andrea Lisi of Equita SIM concluded the comment, pointing out that “Orcel also reiterated that to date they have not yet manifested tangible signs of deterioration and that the CoR continues to decline”is that “the stock trades with a 2023/24E P/TE = 0.44x-0.40x (sector average in area 0.5x), with ROTE expected at 6.5%-8%”.