COMMERZBANK AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

To our Shareholders Interim Management Report Interim Financial Statements
231 Business and economy
232 Earnings performance, assets and financial position
237 Forecast
240 Report on post-balance sheet date events
241 Risk Report
positive developments could not make up for the substantial
impairment charges, mainly on the ABS portfolio in the Corporates
& Markets segment.
Net investment income increased from –€112m in the
first half of 2008 to €558m. This is due to income from the
sale of investments such as Linde, ThyssenKrupp and cominvest,
and lower impairments on RMBS and other holdings
in the ABS book.
Operating expenses rose in comparison with the first six
months of 2008 by 61.2 % to €4,344m. Within this total,
personnel expenses increased by 59.5 % to €2,395m. Oneoff
higher contributions in 2009 to the German Pension
Protection Fund were balanced out by percentage-wise
lower provisions for performance-related compensation
components. Other operating expenses were up 64.6 % to
€1,712m. These also included ongoing expenses for the
integration of Dresdner Bank and higher contributions for
the deposit protection fund.
Restructuring expenses amounted to €505m in the first
half, of which €445m related to the integration of Dresdner
Bank and €60m to the strategic realignment of Eurohypo.
Operating result under pressure in the first half
The operating result for the first half of 2009 was –€792m,
compared with €919m in the same period last year. After
deducting restructuring expenses of €505m and a goodwill
impairment of €70m in the CRE segment, the pre-tax loss
was €1,367m. Due to the current difficult situation in the
USA, United Kingdom and Spain, we released some
deferred taxes there and did not recognize any new ones.
Despite the operating loss, this generated a tax expense of
€284m overall. The consolidated deficit after tax was
€1,651m, of which €44m was attributable to minority
interests and €1,607m to Commerzbank shareholders.
Operating earnings per share amounted to –€0.88 and
earnings per share to –€1.78 (1H2008: €1.40 and €1.67
respectively).
Total assets significantly reduced in second quarter
The Commerzbank Group’s total assets at June 30, 2009
stood at €911.8bn, almost €100bn less than at the end of
the first quarter, but €286.6bn more compared to the 2008
year-end. This strong 45.8 % rise was attributable to the
first-time consolidation of Dresdner Bank on January 12.
While on the asset side claims on banks and trading
assets rose disproportionately by 55.9 % and 99.0 % respectively
due to higher volumes of collateralized money
market transactions or positive fair values for derivative
financial instruments, the growth in financial assets was a
moderate 8.6 %. Claims on customers were up 39.5 % or
€112.4bn, of which €90bn was lending-related. On the liabilities
side, liabilities to customers and trading liabilities
increased by an above-average 74.3 % and 117.9 % respectively,
whereas the reverse was true for liabilities to banks
and securitized liabilities, which were up by only 15.5 %
and 4.2 % respectively. Both subordinated and hybrid
capital were 39.9 % and 26.8 % higher respectively at midyear.
This related to the first-time consolidation of Dresdner
Bank.
In the second quarter, we intensified our reduction of
total assets begun in the first quarter in line with the objectives
set out in our Roadmap 2012 programme. Total assets
have now fallen by almost €100bn since the end of March.
This affected Corporates & Markets in particular through
lower trading activities and a reduction in volume in the
Public Finance business area. Lower volumes were reflected
mainly in the following items in the consolidated balance
sheet: trading assets and liabilities, caused specifically by
the narrowing of credit spreads on credit derivatives and
currency-related derivatives, and, to a lesser extent, claims
on and liabilities to customers and banks.
Equity stands at €29.1bn
Reported equity at June 30, 2009 was up 46.4 % or €9.2bn
to €29.1bn, driven up mainly by higher silent participations
and two capital increases. This was countered by the net
loss for the current financial year.
233