STOCKHOLM, Sweden, February 21, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Nordea:
Sharp improvement in the fourth quarter
-- Operating profit increased by EUR 240m to EUR 468m
-- Profit excluding investment earnings up 10%
-- Investment earnings up EUR 207m
Stable result under challenging market conditions in 2001
-- Total income up 3% and expenses unchanged adjusted for
acquisitions
-- Net annual loan losses 0.29% against target of maximum 0.40%
over a business cycle
-- Earnings per share EUR 0.53 (EUR 0.58 in 2000)
-- Return on equity excluding goodwill 19.2% (19.4%)
-- Dividend of EUR 0.23 per share proposed
Significant strategic progress
-- Target of 2.7 million e-banking customers achieved, new target
of 3.2 million by the end of 2002
-- Accumulated merger synergies of EUR 168m have been realized by
the end of 2001 - EUR 360m will be delivered by the end of next
year
-- A second wave of integration program will result in
additional annual synergies of the same magnitude within
a three-year period
-- In addition, estimated synergies from integrating Postgirot
Bank increased to EUR 65m
-- The entire Group is now operating under one common brand
"Having delivered promised merger synergies despite difficult market conditions the ambition is now set to harvest the full potential of working as an integrated group in order to achieve our ambitious long term goals. With a strong focus on conducting business locally we will further tap growth opportunities, streamline support processes and procedures and thereby improve efficiency and performance of the Group," said Thorleif Krarup, Group CEO of Nordea.
A conference call with management will be arranged on February 21, 2002 at 5:00 p.m., local time Stockholm. Please dial + 46 8 5005 2550, 10 minutes in advance.) This year-end report is available on the Internet. A slide presentation is available on the Internet.
Financial calendar:
The Annual General Meeting will be held on April 24. The interim report for the first quarter 2002 will be published on April24, 2002.Capital markets day will be arranged in London on April 29,2002.
The interim report for the second quarter 2002 will be published on August 22, 2002. The interim report for the third quarter 2002 will be published on October 22, 2002.
The full Annual Report will be available in English on the Internet around March 1, 2002.
This report is published in four additional language versions; Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish. In the event of any inconsistencies between those language versions and this English version, the English version shall prevail.
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The full text report with financial tables is available at the following URLs: www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/02/21/20020221BIT00270/bit0001.doc www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/02/21/20020221BIT00270/bit0001.pdf