Erste Bank Group: smart leverage, strong thesis (stays BUY)
We keep Erste Bank as a BUY and set our new 12M price target (PT) at EUR 85.1 (up from EUR 57.0), offering 20% upside. This profound PT increase is due to two factors: first, we have raised our 2025E net profit forecast by 22% on a comparable geographic basis, on the strong revenue performance, and solid asset quality delivery and guidance so far this year. If just focusing on this factor, we would see the current valuation as rightly reflecting c.EUR 3bn of average annual profits both this and next year from the current operations, in combination with its ability to keep a strong capital distribution profile. However, we have raised our 2026E net profit forecast by 49% and a material part of this has been driven by the inclusion of the Polish assets (a EUR 726m contribution, 25% EPS accretion) and we note that our forecasts for Poland are more cautious than Erste’s. The transaction announcement has been a real catalyst, but still only pricing in the status quo and management’s 2025E guidance. We still see the acquisition as not fully priced into the current valuation.Erste Group is a financial services provider based in Austria. As of Dec 31 2015, Co.'s total assets amounted to Euro199,743 million and the number of customers was approximately 16.5 million. Co.'s key business is the retail business, covering the entire spectrum from lending, deposit and investment products to current accounts and credit cards. In addition to providing financial services to private individuals, Co.'s core activities also include advisory services and support for corporate clients in financing, investment and access to international capital markets, public sector funding and interbank market operations.
WOOD & Company is the leading investment bank in Emerging Europe. Founded in 1991 and head-quartered in Prague, our footprint spans the region and touches investors around the globe.
A pioneer in Emerging Europe, WOOD executed many of the first CEE equity trades and landmark investment banking transactions. Our electronic trading platform was the first in the region, and remains the best. We are continually expanding our relevance and reach in these ever-evolving markets.
Our equity market share reflects our stature: 7% in Warsaw, 20% in Bucharest, 16% in Hungary, 40% in Prague and 5% in Vienna. Our distribution is unparalleled, with the largest salesforce in the region, servicing a uniquely diverse investor base.
We couple local expertise with a truly international perspective. With offices on the ground in the region, and in key financial hubs such as London and Milano, we are never far from our clients and we remain at the forefront of what’s afoot in the CEE emerging and frontier landscape.
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