APS Bank plc - Full-Year Results

On 12 March 2026, APS Bank plc published its Annual Report and Financial Statements for the financial year ended 31 December 2025.

Net interest income grew by 20.1% to €78.7 million (2024: €65.5 million), driven by an increase in gross interest income (+€8.4 million) to €123.1 million on the back of the bank’s increase in interest-earning assets. Meanwhile, interest expenses declined (-€4.8 million) to €44.4 million, as a result of the strategic shift in the funding mix away from fixed-term deposits towards repayable on demand deposits. Consequently, the net interest income margin improved to 1.85% from 1.73% last year.

Excluding last year’s €4.8 million uplift in the valuation of investment properties carried at fair value, non-interest income declined by 15.8% to €10.6 million as the improvement in net fee and commission income was outweighed by declines in other income as well as foreign exchange losses.

The financial performance was also impacted by a net impairment loss of €0.72 million, which however was lower than the impairment losses of €3.0 million last year. APS highlighted that the Non-Performing Loans ratio at the end of 2025 was 1.4%, which is a further improvement from last year’s multi-year low of 1.5% which is indicative of the strength of the Bank’s asset quality.

Overall, net operating income amounted to €88.5 million which is 10.8% higher than the €79.9 million registered in 2024.

On the expenditure side, operating costs increased by 10.8% to €63.1 million, driven by continued investment in human resources, one-off advisory and due-diligence costs as well as higher contributions to the Depositor Compensation Scheme. The cost-to-income ratio for the year stood at 70.7%, which was practically in line with last year based on core metrics.

The Group also recorded €1.0 million (2024: €0.8 million) in share of profits from associates.

Overall, the Group reported a profit before tax of €26.5 million, representing an 11.5% increase on the €23.8 million reported last year. After accounting for a tax charge of €10.2 million and minimal profits attributable to non-controlling interest, the net profit attributable to equity holders amounted to €16.3 million (equivalent to €0.0415 per share based on the weighted-average number of shares during the year), which translates into a return on average shareholders’ funds of 5.4% (2024: 6.3%).

The Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December 2025 showed that total assets increased by 11.6% (or €484 million) to €4.6 billion principally composed of ‘Loans and advances to customers’ amounting to €3.4 billion compared to €3.0 billion as at the end of 2024. The Group also held financial investments of €463 million and cash and balances with the Central Bank of Malta of €401 million and syndicated loans of €173 million. On the liabilities side, the major movement was the 12.6% (or €464 million) increase in customer deposits to €4.1 billion. As a result, the loans-to-deposits ratio (including syndicated loans) eased to 81.7% compared to 87.0% at the end of 2024.

Shareholders’ funds as at 31 December 2025 amounted to €350 million (31 December 2024: €296 million), with the increase mainly driven by the €46.4 million rights issue. The net asset value per share stood at €0.7201 (31 December 2024: €0.7789). The bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio strengthened to 17.6% from 14.3% last year while the Total Capital Ratio rose to 23.2% from 19.6% as at the end of 2024.

Dividend

The Directors of APS are recommending the payment of a final net dividend of €0.015 per share to shareholders as at close of trading on Monday 30 March 2026, subject to regulatory and AGM approvals. Shareholders will have the option to receive the dividend either in cash or in new ordinary shares at an attribution price still to be determined.

Coupled with the net interim dividend of €0.0047 per share that was paid in September 2025, the total net dividend attributable for the 2025 financial year amounts to €0.0197 per share, which represents a payout ratio of 47.5% (2024: 47.5%) and is around 10.5% lower than the 2024 total net dividend per share, reflecting the increased share count through the Rights Issue. In absolute terms, the net dividend attributable to 2025 is of €9.2 million, which is 8.2% higher than the previous year.

Outlook

APS CEO Mr Marcel Cassar noted that strategic measures had clearly delivered results, with interest margins strengthening, lending expanding, and revenues rising across every business line, alongside continued acceleration of the Bank’s digital transformation.

Mr Cassar explained that the Bank is targeting improved performance though further evolution of APS’s business model, with strategic initiatives to deepen engagement in high potential customer segments, further enhance the customer experience, expand share of wallet and looking for further growth, including through inorganic opportunities. He concluded that the Group is confident of delivering substantially higher returns for shareholders in the months ahead.