Lion Finance says 'middle corridor' could benefit from US tariffs

Lion Finance PLC on Thursday reported a jump in first quarter net interest income and pretax profit, as it remains confident in the resilience of its core markets in and around Georgia.

The Tbilisi-based lender, which in February changed its name from Bank of Georgia Group, said pretax profit climbed 41% to ₾609.1 million, around £168.9 million, in the first quarter of 2025, from ₾433.0 million a year ago.

Net interest income jumped 56% to ₾683.7 million from ₾437.8 million.

Operating costs increased 82% to ₾342.9 million from ₾188.0 million.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2024, pretax profit in the first quarter was 0.6% lower, net interest income was 3.0% higher and operating costs were 7.5% lower.

Basic earnings per share fell 50% to ₾11.81 in the first quarter from ₾23.53 a year prior. This is due to a one-off gain on bargain purchase of ₾668.8 million Lion Finance had reported for the first quarter of 2024, resulting from the acquisition of Ameriabank in March 2024.

As a result, the company’s post one-off items profit shrank 51% to ₾513.1 million in the first quarter of 2025 from ₾1.04 billion a year ago.

Chief Executive Officer Archil Gachechiladze said: ‘While global economic and geopolitical developments, such as shifts in trade policies and the situation in Ukraine, continue to make headlines, we remain confident in the resilience of our core markets. Our analysis indicates minimal direct impact on Georgia and Armenia from potential US tariffs, and the opportunities presented by the ’middle corridor’ connecting Asia and Europe offer significant medium-to-long-term upside for the region.’

Lion Finance shares were down 8.2% to 6,195.00 pence each on Thursday afternoon in London.

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