EQS-News: grenke AG: First half-year 2025 on track

• Group earnings in first half of the financial year as expected at EUR 26.2 million (Q1-Q2 2024: EUR 45.0 million)
• Loss rate falls from 1.9% in Q1 2025 to 1.7% in Q2 2025
• Cost-income ratio improves to 56.4% (Q1-Q2 2024: 57.1%)
• Acquisition of franchise companies in the final phase

Baden-Baden, August 14, 2025: grenke AG, a global financing partner for small and medium-sized enterprises, achieved Group earnings of EUR 26.2 million in the first half of the financial year (Q1-Q2 2024: EUR 45.0 million). The expected decline resulted from higher expenses for settlement of claims and risk provision, which were already taken into account in the updated planning. The loss rate fell from 1.9% in the first quarter of this year to 1.7% in the second quarter, resulting in an average in the first half-year of 1.7% (Q1-Q2 2024: 1.1%). The cost-income ratio (CIR) improved during this same period to 56.4% (Q1-Q2 2024: 57.1%).

Dr Sebastian Hirsch, CEO of grenke AG: “We are on track with our first half-year results. Even more importantly, the significant rise in profit in the second quarter compared to the first quarter marks the beginning of a trend reversal. We believe this places us on track to meet our target for the year. The acquisition of the remaining franchise companies is in its final stages, and we will soon be able to close this chapter. In addition, with the transfer of the Polish factoring company to Teylor AG, we have achieved another important milestone.”

Dr Martin Paal, CFO of grenke AG: “We further improved our cost-income ratio year-on-year, primarily by managing our costs in a disciplined manner and in line with our planning. We intend to maintain this approach in the second half of the year. The level of losses was within our expectations. At the same time, we believe we have moved past the peak. Based on this foundation, we are looking ahead to the second half-year with confidence.”

Higher interest income, along with planned cost growth in the second quarter of 2025
Interest income rose by EUR 24.7 million to EUR 165.0 million in the second quarter of 2025 (Q2 2024: EUR 140.3 million). In the same period, interest expenses related to the refinancing of the leasing business increased by EUR 14.1 million to EUR 64.0 million (Q2 2024: EUR 49.9 million). As a result, net interest income (the net difference between interest income and interest expenses) increased 11.6% to EUR 100.9 million (Q2 2024: EUR 90.4 million).

Due to strong growth in interest income, along with improved results from the service business and gains and losses from disposals, income from operating business rose EUR 17.0 million to EUR 162.8 million (Q2 2024: EUR 145.8 million). Operating expenses rose by only EUR 9.3 million year-over-year to EUR 91.3 million (Q2 2024: EUR 82.0 million), with staff costs accounting for EUR 52.7 million (Q2 2024: EUR 48.1 million). This led to an improved cost-income ratio of 56.1% (Q2 2024: 56.3%), which is in line with the target threshold of <60% for the 2025 financial year. The average number of employees at the grenke Group (measured in full-time equivalents) increased as planned by 6.2% to 2,315 employees (Q2 2024: 2,180).

As a result of the positive income development, the operating result before settlement of claims and risk provision rose by 12.2% in the second quarter of 2025 to EUR 71.5 million (Q2 2024: EUR 63.7 million).

Due to the continued elevated number of insolvencies and a strained overall macroeconomic environment, which led to increased payment defaults, the result from settlement of claims and risk provision in the second quarter of EUR -47.1 million (Q2 2024: EUR -28.3 million) was at the level of the first quarter, as expected. Accordingly, the loss rate – the ratio of settlement of claims and risk provision to the volume of leased assets – stood at 1.7% in the second quarter (Q2 2024: 1.2%), showing a slight improvement compared to the first quarter of 2025 (Q1 2025: 1.9%). The operating result, therefore amounted to EUR 22.5 million (Q2 2024: EUR 33.4 million), and Group earnings equalled EUR 16.0 million (Q2 2024: EUR 25.2 million).

Lease receivables grow steadily; equity ratio remains stable
Leasing new business grew 9.8% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year, reaching EUR 867.4 million (Q2 2024: EUR 790.3 million). This resulted in an increase in lease receivables to EUR 6.9 billion as of the end of the second quarter of 2025 (December 31, 2024: EUR 6.5 billion). The equity ratio as of June 30, 2025 equalled 15.9% (December 31, 2024: 16.1%), remaining within the Company’s own target of approximately 16%.

Acquisition of remaining franchise companies agreed on with financial investors
grenke AG has reached an agreement with financial investors as part of a package deal involving the franchise companies still pending acquisition, which have been fully consolidated since 2020. This included, among others, the leasing franchise company in Chile, where grenke AG now holds 100% of the capital and voting rights, as well as an agreement for the prompt acquisition of Latvia and the three local subsidiaries in Canada. The total purchase price for all original franchise companies, whose acquisition process began in 2022, amounts to approximately EUR 70 million and is in line with expectations.

Guidance for 2025 reaffirmed
For the 2025 financial year, grenke continues to expect leasing new business in the range of EUR 3.2 billion to EUR 3.4 billion and Group earnings of EUR 71 million to EUR 81 million.

The financial report for the second quarter and first half-year 2025 is available on our website under “Reports & Presentations”.
  Key figures at a glance (in EUR million)  

	Q2 2025	Q2 2024	∆ in %	Q1-Q2 2025	Q1-Q2 2024	∆ in %
Leasing new business	867.4	790.3	9.8	1,622.0	1,460.1	11.1
CM2 margin of leasing new business in %	17.1	16.6	0.5 pp	17.3	16.7	0.6 pp
Group earnings	16.0	25.2	-36.6	26.2	45.0	-41.8
Earnings per share in euros	0.36	0.58	-37.9	0.34	0.80	-57.5
Cost-income ratio in %	56.1	56.3	-0.2 pp	56.4	57.1	-0.7 pp
Loss rate	1.7	1.2	0.5 pp	1.7	1.1	0.6 pp
RoE before taxes in %	5.9	9.7	-3.8 pp	5.0	8.5	-3.5 pp
Average no. of employees in full-time equivalents	2,315	2,180	6.2	2,306	2,169	6.3

 

	Jun. 30, 2025	Dec. 31, 2024	∆ in %
Equity ratio in %	15.9	16.1	-0.2 pp

Note: Rounding differences may occur between individual values and the actual figures achieved in euros.