RLB OÖ finished 2021 with “excellent results”.

Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich can look back on a strong year. General Manager Heinrich Schaller was able to report an increase in profit after tax from 302 million euros to 464.9 million euros on Friday.

Furthermore, the operating result increased by almost 19% to €429.9 million. In addition, the consolidated balance sheet total of €51.4 billion crossed the €50 billion mark for the first time.

Corporate earnings calculated using the equity method increased by €49.9 million to €134.6 million over the previous year. This item includes, among others, investments in voestalpine, Raiffeisenbank Prague and Hypo OÖ, as well as Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), which are important to the Bank. There are currently about 80 investments in the portfolio, and the investment business will be closely followed.

Raiffeisen banks in Upper Austria also did good work last year. Net income (before changes in reserves) increased from €132.9 million (2020) to €212.6 million, and the result of normal activities (EGT) increased by almost 55 per cent to €266.3 million. Consolidated – a result of Raiffeisen Banks and RLB Oberösterreich together – the group increased the purchasing power of attorney by 75 percent to €600 million.

Strong base, but also a lot of uncertainty

In light of the “really good result” in 2021 and the group’s core capital ratio of about 16.0 percent, Schaller says they are well prepared for potential setbacks.

Because, among other things, the Raiffeisen sector in Upper Austria is indirectly affected by the situation in Ukraine through the participation of RLB OÖ in the RBI (9.5 percent). In addition, the general manager is pessimistic about further economic development. The expected inflation rate of 5.6 percent is expected to be higher this year and the expected economic growth of 2.3 percent will not be achieved with difficulty.