MLP SE

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon from MLP headquarter in Wiesloch and welcome to our analyst and investor conference. I also welcome our CEO, Dr. Uwe Schröder-Wilkbeck and our CFO, Reinhard Lohse. Before we move into our presentation, I will give you some information on today's setup. And after our presentation, we are happy to answer your questions. An announcement or entry of your questions is possible at any time, also during the presentation. Please use your input mask in the browser. If you want to ask your questions personally with audio and video or with audio only, please note this in the text field. After the presentation, we will ask you to activate your camera or microphone as soon as it is your turn. If you want to ask your questions purely in writing, please use the text field. And now I hand over to Uwe Schröder-Wilkberg. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. A warm welcome to our online analyst conference. I would like to start with the most important news up front. The MLP Group can look back on a highly successful financial year 2025. The successful operating business development of the past year once again underlines the strategic strength of MLP Group. We operate with a deliberately integrated setup that secures stability and enables sustainable growth. This is strongly supported by our innovative use of artificial intelligence. First of all, please allow me to provide some more details on the development of MLP over the past 12 months using the key figures that are most important to us. Firstly, at 1.08 billion euros recorded the highest revenue volume in MLP's history to date for the 12th time in a row, by the way. The proportion of recurring sales revenue is now 72% and is an important indicator of our sustained earning stability. The assets under management in the MNP Group and the non-life insurance portfolio are material factors which we were also able to increase to new record levels. Secondly, we recorded EBIT of 87.9 million euros. This figure already includes the one-off effect resulting from the focusing of our real estate business. Without this effect, we would have recorded EBIT of 97.1 million euros in the financial year 2025. We are now forecasting EBIT of 100 to 110 million euros for 2026 and are therefore resolutely continuing on the path towards our midterm plan of recording EBIT of 140 255 million euros by the end of 28. And thirdly, we remain an attractive share for our shareholders, not only offering potential for further share price growth, but also paying an appropriate dividend for financial year 25. The executive board is proposing a dividend of 36 cents per share to a supervisory board and the annual general meeting. which once again corresponds to a dividend yield of 5%. Accordingly, we are maintaining the high level of a previous year's dividend. On the one hand, the MEP Group enjoys a very high degree of stability, which is of enormous importance, particularly in the face of challenging macroeconomic developments, most recently also in view of a war in Iran and the possible consequences for the economy. On the other hand, our unique business model in which we support and advise private, institutional and corporate clients on all financial matters offers significant growth potential. Our clients and our consultants are also increasingly benefiting from our successful digital strategy in which artificial intelligence already plays a significant role today and will become an even more important factor for success in the future. We primarily use AI where it directly benefits our clients and our consultants, always acting in a targeted and responsible manner. Artificial intelligence will dramatically change our society and our economy in the coming years. This is already recognizable today and is irreversible. Nobody will be able to escape this development. In the MFP group, we have developed great innovative strength in this area and are utilizing the massive opportunities both strategically and operationally. At the same time, it is always clear that our clients must ultimately benefit from our efforts. We see AI as an opportunity, not a threat. That is why we are already integrating it into our processes on a broad scale. Allow me to provide some concrete examples. For some time now, we have been successfully using a sophisticated AI agent at our subsidiary Domkura to process non-life insurance claims fully automatically for our clients. And most recently, we have introduced another AI agent in this area which can handle full automated policy optimization and conclusion on request. In doing so, we are entering in the field of genuine AI broker while continuing to combine this with all the benefits of MLPs personal and comprehensive consulting. AI is also enabling us to significantly enhance the overall effectiveness of our consultants for our clients. Indeed, AI agents will support them in many aspects of their discerning work, from arranging appointments all the way to producing documentation. Above all, this means more time for actual client consulting. This has also made us even more attractive to young people who want to pursue financial advisory as a profession, highly skilled in terms of expertise personally close to the client. and maximally supported by AI in all administrative manners. In terms of the use and further development of AI applications, we are already positioned in such a way that we do not have to fear competitors that rely entirely on AI should they gain a foothold in the market at all. Regardless of this, one thing remains true. when it comes to the key and sometimes complex financial matters, people want to be advised by people. Empathy, a blind spot of every AI system, is more important than ever in this context. With this positioning, the MFP group benefits disproportionately from other important trends compared with the market, alongside personal asset succession, meaning the transfer of family wealth to the next generation, demographic developments are creating the immense need for financial provision and in turn, increasing demand for consulting and management services. And last but not least, the increase of environmental risks, in particular the growing climate and cyber risk, is leading to greater demand for cover, including complex cover among both private and corporate clients. In short, M&P Group has established an excellent position to successfully continuing its growth path in an increasingly AI-driven world. AI acts as an accelerator for a unique business model which has long combined pronounced stability with major growth opportunities. Before I now hand over to Reinhard Looser, who will go into greater detail regarding the business figures for 2025, I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all MLP consultants as well as all employees in the group. They have all achieved a great deal for our clients.

Thank you very much, Uwe. You can find an overview of revenue development on slide 5 of the presentation. In the financial year 2025, MLP increased its total revenue to a new high of 1.08 billion euros. The share of recurring sales revenue was 72% at the end of 2025, a sign of the impressive long-term stability of our business model. Across the MEP Group, we generate recurring revenue from the continuous high-quality service we provide to our clients, particularly in the property and casualty and wealth competence fields. The remaining share of sales revenue is generated from our new business, particularly the life and health competence fields. The Group recorded revenue growth of 8% to 223 million euros in the property and casualty competence field, while revenue in the life and health competence field remained largely stable at €303 million, as did revenue in the wealth competence field at €510 million. The increase in the property and casualty area, which compromises the non-life insurance business with both corporate and private clients, can be attributed in part to the fact that both client groups have a high demand for professional insurance coverage. awareness of climate, cyber and other risks is increasing. In the life and health competence field, which compromises old age provision and health insurance, was a continued high level of interest in high quality health care services, particularly in the area of private health insurance, but also in occupational health insurance schemes. With regard to occupational pension schemes, on the other hand, there was a certain reluctance among employers to introduce new concepts for their employees. As expected, the interest rate business in the wealth competence field declined due to the interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank, while loans and mortgages and real estate brokerage were able to profit from precisely this. Wealth management revenue to which both MLPs private client business and the consulting services provided to institutional and high net worth clients by its subsidiary Ferry contributed remain stable. Performance-based compensation total 10.7 million euros, significantly below the previous year's figure of 33.9 million euros, reflecting developments on the capital markets during the year. Performance-based compensation is accrued for the positive performance of investment concepts and is largely recognized in the results. Excluding this performance-based compensation, wealth management revenue would have risen by 7% in the financial year 2025. Here, too, it is clear that we have successfully earned the trust of our clients. The growing and continuing trust in our consulting services displayed by our clients is also reflected in the key figures. These are extremely important for our future revenue development. It is therefore all the more pleasing that we were able to increase assets under management to a new high of 65.9 billion euros. To the best of our knowledge, this makes us the second largest bank independent asset manager in Germany today. Let's now take a quick look at our key figures. We were also able to increase the managed non-life insurance premium volume to another record high at 809 billion euros. This is roughly equivalent to the size of the mid-sized non-life insurer in the German market. You can find an abridged version of the current income statement on slide 8. The MLP Group's EBIT was 87.9 million euros in the financial year 2025. As roughly communicated in November, this is lower than in 2024, although significantly higher than the 23 figures when we recorded 70.7 million euros. EBIT for 2025 includes the one-off effect from a focusing of the real estate business at the subsidiary Deutschland Immobilien which has also already been communicated and processed, amounting to minus 9.2 million euros. Without this effect, EBIT would have totalled 97.1 million euros. Despite otherwise successful operating performance and stable administrative costs, EBIT development in 2025 was also characterized by a significantly lower earnings contribution from performance-based compensation and lower income from the interest rate business, as previously reported. Group net profit for the financial year 2025 is 55.7 million euros. Shareholder's equity rose to 585 million euros as of the 31st of December 2025. The core capital ratio for the financial holding group was a solid 16.6%. The liquidity coverage ratio LCR also serves as a benchmark for the short-term liquidity situation in stress scenarios and is therefore an indicator of resilience. at 972% is also well above the 100% minimum required by regulatory authorities. For the financial year 25, the executive board at MLP proposes a constant dividend of 36 cents per share. The dividend payout ratio will then be almost 71% of net profit and therefore in terms of dividend continuity, even very slightly above the announced corridor of 50 to 70%. The dividend yield remains at just over 5%, and this is therefore another good argument that speaks in favor of our share. We will discuss our significant business potential, which is above all reflected in our midterm outlook in more detail later. Let me start with our forecast. MLP is anticipating EBIT of 100 to 110 million euros for the financial year 2026. This is based on the continuation of the successful operating business development, the further intensified use of artificial intelligence and continued disciplined cost management. The forecasted earnings growth in 2026 is expected to be fueled in particular by rising sales revenue in all three competence fields, wealth, life and health, and property and casualty. The performance-based compensation that we received in the wealth competence field are traditionally considered cautiously and therefore only included to a limited extent. And with that, I hand over once again to Udo Schröder-Wittberg.