news - Strong results FMO: focus on impact

•    EUR 1.4 billion in new investments

•    EUR 6.3 billion total committed portfolio

•    EUR 146 million net profit 

•    Growth of sustainable business

•    New strategy announced

New strategy focus on sustainable investments and impact

FMO (the Dutch Development Finance Company) published its 2012 annual results today.

The total investment portfolio increased to EUR 6.3 billion (2011: EUR 5.9 billion). The quality of the portfolio remains strong. The net interest income increased, and the market for exits in equity investments proved to be favourable. A net profit of EUR 146 million in 2012 (2011: EUR 93 million) will increase investments and impact in developing countries.

Attractive opportunities in developing countries

“These results signify the changes we see taking place around the world, with developing countries becoming more and more important destinations for finance. The positive growth shows that there are attractive opportunities for both local and international companies to invest. Our results confirm the continuing shift of economic growth to the developing countries”, according to Nanno Kleiterp, CEO of FMO.

Sustainable impact essential

“The world’s population will grow from 7 billion people now to 9 billion people in 2050. If we want to live well, we have to take into account the scarce resources of our planet. The continuing mismanagement of global public goods, such as carbon emissions, water and fisheries is fuelling climate change and posing a genuine threat to humanity. We must rethink the way we produce and consume.”

“With all the global sustainability challenges it is increasingly important to support those businesses that contribute to a more sustainable future. The private sector plays a vital role in the sustainable economic development in developing countries”, says Kleiterp. “That’s why we implement, together with our clients, sustainability in their business processes. We realized more than 85% (2011: 80%) of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) improvement agreements we set with our clients. This proves that sustainable business is growing also in developing countries.”

New strategy period

“With the strategy period 2009-2012 coming to an end, we have created a strong performance and portfolio growth for FMO and increased our impact in developing countries.”

“Our 2013-2016 strategy is focused on becoming the leading impact investor. While we continue to invest in the private sector in developing economies, we will do so in a way that reflects our mission to help entrepreneurs to create a better world. This will enable us to establish our goal of doubling our impact and halving our footprint. Based on our long-standing experience in sustainable development, we strongly believe that combining economic growth, green development and social inclusiveness is the only way to enable people to build a better live.” 

In 2012, FMO introduced an Investment Management arm. The goal is to offer institutional investors the opportunity to benefit from the growth and attractive returns in the markets where we are active, while at the same time contributing to impact and poverty alleviation.

Growth in the Dutch market

“FMO has a unique position between the Netherlands and developing markets. This position can benefit both clients and stakeholders in the Netherlands. This will be done by providing finance to Dutch companies expanding into developing countries and establishing partnerships with universities and business networks.  We see potential opportunities in cooperation on sustainability and climate change, where the Netherlands has proved to be knowledgeable.”

Outlook

“We cautiously expect a continuing growth of developing countries. Given the good state of the economy in many of our markets and the projects in our pipeline, our outlook remains predominantly positive for 2013”, according to Kleiterp.

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The Annual Report 2012 will be published by FMO on http://annualreport2012.fmo.nl/

on March 27, 2013, 8.30 am CEST.

About FMO

FMO (the Netherlands Development Finance Company) is the Dutch development bank. FMO supports sustainable private sector growth in developing and emerging markets by investing in ambitious entrepreneurs. FMO believes a strong private sector leads to economic and social development, empowering people to employ their skills and improve their quality of life. FMO focuses on three sectors that have high development impact: financial institutions, energy, and agribusiness, food & water. With an investment portfolio of EUR 6.3 billion, FMO is one of the largest European bilateral private sector development banks. www.fmo.nl

Press contact:

Paul Hartogsveld

p.hartogsveld@fmo.nl

(+31 6 11 58 91 27)