Report
Johann Scholtz
EUR 850.00 For Business Accounts Only

Morningstar | Credit Agricole Achieves Its 2019 Targets a Year Ahead of Time. See Updated Analyst Note from 25 Feb 2019

No-moat Credit Agricole reported attributable net income of EUR 4.4 billion for the 2018 fiscal year. This is 21% higher than 2017 and ahead of the EUR 4.2 billion we estimated. A solid 4% increase in revenue was supported by a 24% decline in loan-loss provisions and a 15% decline in taxes. We often view preprovision profits as the best indicator of underlying performance, and Credit Agricole generated respectable growth of 11%. We have increased our fair value estimate to EUR 12 per share from EUR 11, largely as the result of a downward revision in our expectation for a midcycle tax rate. We maintain our no-moat rating.

In contrast to nearly all its European peers, Credit Agricole saw revenue at its corporate and investment banking business (27% of attributable net income) holding up well in the fourth quarter of 2018. There is, however, a pronounced difference between results from the financing arm of Credit Agricole's corporate and investment bank, which saw fourth-quarter revenue growth of 10%, and the global markets business, which recorded a 15% decline in revenue. Overall, pretax profits for the corporate and investment business was stable for 2018 compared with 2017.

Fully owned French retail banking subsidiary LCL (11% of attributable net income) reported a 3% increase in profit before tax for the year. The impact of low interest rates seems to have stabilised, with revenue growth tracking volume. Loan-loss provisions remain low but are not declining further.

Credit Agricole's 70%-owned subsidiary Amundi (11% of attributable net income) saw meaningful pressure on its revenue in the final quarter of 2018; however, this was largely offset by lower costs. We view the flexibility in costs positively. Credit Agricole's attributable earnings from Amundi grew 14% for the year.

Credit Agricole has largely met the goals it set out for 2019 in 2018 already and will set out its new medium-term targets on June 6.
Underlying
CREDIT AGRICOLE SA

Credit Agricole is active in the market of retail banking and related businesses. Co. provides day-to-day banking, savings products, mortgage and consumer loans, insurance, private banking, asset management, lease finance and factoring, corporate and investment banking. Its activities can be divided into six business lines: French Retail Banking - Regional Banks; French Retail Banking - LCL; International Retail Banking; Specialized Financial Services; Savings Management and Insurance; and Corporate and Investment Banking. Co.'s customers are personal customers, farmers, small businesses, companies and local authorities. As of Dec 31 2013 Co.'s total assets amounted to Euro1,536,873,000,000.

Provider
Morningstar
Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offer an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors.

Morningstar provides data on approximately 530,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 18 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $185 billion in assets under advisement and management as of June 30, 2016.

We have operations in 27 countries.

Analysts
Johann Scholtz

Other Reports on these Companies
Other Reports from Morningstar

ResearchPool Subscriptions

Get the most out of your insights

Get in touch