DLL announced it delivered solid financial results for the 2018 business year. The company’s focus on partnerships, specialized industry knowledge, a balanced spread of activities across geographic regions and disciplined risk management led to continued commercial growth and a stable financial performance.
DLL recorded net profits of $449 million for FY2018. During this same period, new business volume grew to $28.6 billion, representing 6 percent growth over the prior year, when excluding currency movements. The company also realized growth in its portfolio, which increased by 8 percent $38.4 billion.
“The 2018 business year was one of growth and progress for DLL,” said Bill Stephenson, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board. “Our achievements not only spanned across financial and commercial targets, but also touched on improvements in customer satisfaction and employee engagement. In an increasingly competitive market, we continued to differentiate DLL and grow our market share.”
Stable operating performance
Despite heavy competition in many key markets, the company reported all key performance indicators finished the year within acceptable parameters.
“The continued downward pressure on pricing and margins had an expected dilutive effect on our profit performance, but the fundamentals remain sound,” said Marc Dierckx, Chief Financial Officer and member of the Executive Board. “We continue to closely monitor and manage our pricing in key markets and seek further process efficiencies in our service delivery in order to offset these risks.”
Operating costs decreased by 5 percent on a year over year basis, due to movements in currency exchange rates and other exceptional items. When adjusted for these items, operating costs growth was generally in line with portfolio growth. At the same time, risk costs increased slightly on an absolute basis, but were still at relatively low levels, as DLL continued to benefit from a stable economic environment and diversification across multiple industry sectors and countries.
The company also continued efforts to diversify its funding sources, successfully completing two securitization transactions in the U.S., attracting almost $1.9 billion of external funding.
“These successful transactions represent an endorsement by the investment community and rating agencies regarding the stable and consistent performance of our business,” commented Dierckx.
Looking ahead
In 2019, the company will mark a proud milestone; the 50th anniversary of its founding. The official date of the anniversary is May 29 and will be recognized at DLL offices around the world with local events built around the themes of “Celebrating 50 years of Partnership and Embracing the Future”.
“Our results in 2018 show that DLL is both healthy and profitable, which allows us to make continued investments in transformative technologies and further improvements to the customer experience,” added Stephenson. “We have a strong foundation on which to build for the future, not only delivering continued profitable growth, but also making a real positive impact with our customers. I am confident that we are charting a course toward success for another 50 years and beyond.”