Getin sees booming results in Q1

Getin Holding, Poland's largest private company in terms of market value, profits and ownership capital, had a Q1 2008 net profit of zł.126.9 million, which was 58 percent more than in Q1 2007. The group's revenues rose by 60 percent to zł.396 million.

Getin Bank, which is the main company in Getin Holding, saw its revenues jump by 58 percent y/y to zł.89.3 million.

"As a result of strong operating performance with growth of loans and deposits outpacing the sector, as well as strong cost containment, cost/income ratio of Getin Holding came lowest among all banks listed on the bourse," said Marta Czajkowska, an analyst at KBC Securities. In Q1 the holding had a 41.9-percent C/I indicator, while the banking average was 52.4 percent. She added that the company was improving the ratio systematically and planned to reach a 40-percent C/I ratio in 2008.

Getin Holding president Krzysztof Rosiński said the company had a good future outlook as mortgage activity had started to increase again in April after a slowdown in Q1.

"The first quarter wasn't easy," said Rosiński. "One could see people waiting for a fall in home prices which did not materialize - there was only a correction - and now the number of mortgage applications for houses and housing construction projects is clearly rising. The activity on the mortgage loan market is generally growing," added Rosiński.

Getin is controlled by its supervisory council head, Leszek Czarnecki, who is also one of Poland's richest men. It is a broad financial group which includes retail banking through its Getin and Noble banks, leasing and financial intermediation through Open Finance and Open Direct, and insurance intermediation with its Noble Fund.