DLL races ahead on growth trajectory, despite turbulent market conditions

Asset-based finance provider DLL has reported strong growth in the first six months of 2019 as the business celebrates its 50th anniversary year.

The lender maintained solid growth throughout H1 with a portfolio balance increase of more than 7% compared to the same period last year, totalling €34.6 billion (£31.4 billion).

DLL attributed this portfolio growth to its focus on partnerships and digital transformation, stressing the importance of continued innovation.
New business volumes reached €13 billion (£11.8 billion) in the same period, a rise of 8% from the previous year, showing resilience amid slowing economic conditions and growing competition throughout many key markets.

Bill Stephenson, CEO and chairman of the executive board, said: “DLL continues to be an integral part of the growth and success of our customers around the world. In a challenging market environment, the underlying performance of the business remains positive and we intend to continue making investments in our people, who play a key role in delivering our value proposition, as well as projects that will accelerate our digital transformation and deliver innovative business models to our customers.”

The company experienced a 26% drop in net profit, totalling €179 million (£162 million) throughout H1 2019. This was in part due to a significant one-off income tax reclassification in Europe, and an increase in risk costs.

Alongside the growth in portfolio balance and new business volumes, the underlying performance of the portfolio continued to trend positively. Net interest income reached €522 million (£474 million), representing a growth of 6% over the prior year.

In addition to the continuing efforts to diversify funding sources, the company successfully closed a £306 million securitization deal in the UK, rated AAA by Fitch and Standard & Poor’s.

Marc Dierckx, CFO and member of the executive board, added: “Our focused management of lease pricing allowed us to slow margin compression in many of our key markets.”