NLB Group: Remarkable business performance led to a record high

profit of EUR 236.4 million in 2021

Pursuant to the Rules of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange relating to Article 158 of the Market Financial Instruments Act NLB d.d., Trg republike 2, 1000 Ljubljana, announces:

The remarkable performance of the NLB Group in 2021 led to a record high profit of EUR 236.4 million - a substantial growth to previous year when excluding effects from the acquisition of Komercijalna Banka, Beograd, unaudited 2021 data shows. The results lay a solid foundation for the continued successful operation of the NLB Group, and for overcoming the new, exciting challenges that are on the horizon.

"The results of our business operations in 2021 show that we have successfully left the epidemic behind us and, what is more, have emerged from it stronger than ever," emphasized NLB's CEO Blaž Brodnjak as the unaudited 2021 results were published. You may find key highlights of the NLB Groups' business operations in 2021 and the outlook for 2022, as well as Investor presentation on the links below:

Key highlights

Investor Presentation

"The Supervisory Board is pleased that the NLB Group has successfully utilised the opportunities offered to it by the supportive economic environment of strong GDP growth in the region, healthy private consumption, and loan demand," said Primož Karpe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of NLB d.d. upon the publication of the results. "The Group's business results prove that its objectives are set prudently and strategically, focusing on the innovative, higher recurring growth financial products and addressing digital innovation across our key markets. Moreover, the past year has once again reaffirmed the importance of subsidiary banks, which are key factor not only in the NLB Group's business operations, but also in their respective markets, where the majority of them hold systemically important positions. We firmly believe that further intragroup consolidation will bring additional opportunities to leverage these synergies and further strengthen our position. This way we will do everything needed to actually spearhead the innovation trends in banking, and not merely defend our market positions in the future, at times when some world-wide trends indicate that digitalisation is set to disrupt the classical banking model in the segment of consumer revenue," he added.

The Group achieved many important milestones in 2021, with the integration of two entities in Montenegro (NLB Banka Podgorica and KB Podgorica), as well as the divestment of KB Banja Luka, to name just a few. It also recorded a much higher appreciation of our services, solutions, and overall positive impact on the economy and society among our clients and general public alike.

Turning its gaze to the future, NLB Group will continue to pursue its strategic objectives, focusing mainly on intensive digitalisation and providing top quality user experience, as well as sustainable operations and development and justifying the expectations of its stakeholders also through dividend payment.

"There are many challenges ahead of us, however, we face them confidently. How could we not, when we can count on a team of dedicated colleagues, talents, and knowledgeable experts who truly care about our mission and go the extra mile when needed," explained NLB's CEO Blaž Brodnjak. "We are also happy that we have begun the year 2022 with the Supervisory Board appointing three new members of the Management Board of NLB d.d., who will help us steer our Group and address opportunities that await us. We are looking forward to the merger of our two banks in Serbia in April, and further opportunities for either organic growth or expansion through M&As," he added.

More information about the Key Unaudited FY2021 business results will be presented during a webcast, hosted by the Management Board of NLB d.d., today, on Thursday, February 24, 2022, at 16:00 CET/15.00 GMT, available here: https://bit.ly/3GZbGLL. Members of the Management Board will, as usual, receive and address your questions live during the webcast. You may post your questions live, via web app available on the link above, or you may simply send them to the email address [email protected].

Investor Relations

NLB d.d., Ljubljana