TBC Bank’s 2025: double‑digit income growth, fatter margins, bigger dividend
TBC Bank Group’s preliminary unaudited results for 2025 land well: strong profit growth, expanding margins and a bigger dividend, tempered by higher risk costs and a tougher year in Uzbekistan. The Board is recommending a final dividend of GEL 3.87 per share, taking total 2025 dividends to GEL 8.87 per share, up 10% year-on-year. Add a GEL 75 million buyback and total capital returns hit GEL 564 million – 40% of net profit.
There’s also a management shift: Group CEO Vakhtang Butskhrikidze will focus fully on the Group, while George Tkhelidze becomes CEO of JSC TBC Bank in Georgia from 1 March 2026.
Headline numbers investors care about
| Metric | 4Q 2025 | FY 2025 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net profit | GEL 387.2 million | GEL 1,420.3 million | +15.7% (Q4), +8.6% (FY) |
| ROE (return on equity) | 24.9% | 24.2% | +0.8 pp (Q4), -1.4 pp (FY) |
| NIM (net interest margin) | 7.0% | 7.0% | +0.3 pp (Q4 & FY) |
| Cost-to-income | 37.3% | 37.5% | -1.8 pp (Q4), -0.4 pp (FY) |
| Cost of risk (impairment charge vs loans) | 1.1% | 1.5% | +0.1 pp (Q4), +0.7 pp (FY) |
| EPS | GEL 6.91 | GEL 25.23 | +16.9% (Q4), +7.8% (FY) |
| Total loans | GEL 30.15 billion (+12.8% YoY) | ||
| Total deposits | GEL 25.66 billion (+12.2% YoY) | ||
| Georgia CET1 / Total CAR | 16.6% / 22.5% | ||
What drove the beat: income up, margins wider, costs contained
Top line did the heavy lifting. Net interest income rose 23.7% to GEL 2,352.5 million as the net interest margin improved to 7.0% (up 0.3 pp). Net fee and commission income climbed 18.5% to GEL 616.7 million, reflecting deeper customer engagement.
Costs were kept in check relative to revenue – the cost-to-income ratio improved to 37.5% for the year and 37.3% in Q4. The drag? Impairments. Group cost of risk rose to 1.5% for FY 2025 (from 0.8% in 2024), with non-performing loans (NPLs) edging up to 2.7% of gross loans (from 2.2%).
Georgia remains the earnings engine
Georgia Financial Services delivered another robust year. Q4 net profit was GEL 380.9 million (+15% YoY) with ROE at 25.7%. For the full year, net profit reached GEL 1,376.6 million (+7.8% YoY) and ROE was 24.3%.
- Loans: up 10.7% YoY to GEL 27.60 billion, led by CIB (+13.7%) and Retail (+12.3%).
- Margins and efficiency: NIM steady at 5.8% (FY), cost-to-income 33.0%.
- Risk: cost of risk at a low 0.7% (FY); NPL ratio 2.5%.
- Digital momentum: Georgia digital MAU up 24% to 1.301 million; a new GenAI chatbot handles 100k+ interactions per month with 50% offloading.
In short, the core franchise is compounding nicely – steady margins, strong fee growth, and disciplined risk.
Uzbekistan: fast growth, but a bumpier ride
Uzbekistan is scaling quickly but with higher volatility. Full-year operating income surged 66.7% to GEL 689.9 million and net profit rose 14.8% to GEL 126.6 million. ROE was 18.4% for the year.
- Quality and provisions: FY cost of risk jumped to 10.2% and NPLs rose to 5.8% of loans (from 2.0% in 2024).
- One-off: FY results include a non-recurring credit impairment charge of GEL 24.6 million (pre-tax).
- Quarterly trends: Q4 net profit fell 13% YoY to GEL 31.7 million and the loan book contracted 3.3% QoQ as the bank adjusted to regulatory changes and rebalanced towards SME.
- Scale: Loans up 45.1% YoY to GEL 2.55 billion; deposits up 40.1% YoY to GEL 1.48 billion. Ecosystem growth continued – over 900k Salom Cards; Payme payment volumes up 43% to GEL 18.5 billion.
The direction of travel is attractive, but expect continued rebalancing through the first half of 2026, as flagged by management.
Asset quality and coverage: a mixed picture
Group NPL ratio rose to 2.7% (from 2.2%), and total NPL coverage decreased to 128.3% (from 143.9%). Breakdown matters:
- Georgia: NPLs at 2.5% with provision coverage of 56.9% and total coverage of 126.7%.
- Uzbekistan: NPLs at 5.8% with provision coverage at 135.6%.
Interpretation: Georgia remains benign on credit. Uzbekistan is carrying higher risk costs and elevated NPLs, but with strong provisioning. Group-wide, impairment normalisation has arrived – not a surprise at this stage of the cycle.
Capital, liquidity and shareholder returns
Regulatory capital in Georgia remains comfortably above minimums: CET1 16.6%, Tier 1 19.8%, Total CAR 22.5%. Liquidity is solid with NSFR at 123.7% and LCR at 127.7%.
Shareholder returns stepped up: total dividends of GEL 8.87 per share and a GEL 75 million buyback reduced the share count to 55,822,154 by year-end. Management notes a 35% dividend payout ratio for 2025, at the upper end of guidance, with total capital returned representing 40% of net profit.
Digital user growth: scale with engagement
Total digital monthly active users reached 7.304 million (+5% QoQ), including 1.301 million in Georgia (+24% YoY) and 6.003 million in Uzbekistan. Group DAU/MAU was 31% in Q4, down from 35% as Uzbekistan’s engagement ratio eased; Georgia’s DAU/MAU remained strong at 47%.
Macro tailwinds in both markets
Georgia grew GDP by 7.5% in 2025 with improving external balances, strong inflows, and a stable GEL. Uzbekistan delivered 7.7% GDP growth, moderating inflation and a stronger UZS by year-end. Both backdrops are supportive for banking growth in 2026, albeit with differing risk profiles.
My take: why this matters for investors
- Positives
- Quality growth: Loans up 12.8%, deposits up 12.2%, NIM at 7.0% and cost-to-income improving to 37.5%.
- Cash returns: 10% DPS uplift and buyback – signalling confidence and capital discipline.
- Georgia compounding: Low cost of risk, solid margins, and digital acquisition firing.
- Watch-outs
- Risk costs: Group CoR rose to 1.5%; NPL coverage eased. Not alarming, but worth monitoring.
- Uzbekistan execution: Higher NPLs (5.8%), elevated CoR (10.2%) and regulatory-driven mix shift. Management plans to rebalance through H1 2026.
- Capital drift: Georgia CARs dipped modestly (still strong), Uzbekistan CARs stepped down as RWAs grew.
Near-term catalysts and how to follow along
- Strategy Day on 24 February 2026 – expect updated targets and medium-term priorities.
- 4Q/FY 2025 results call at 2.00 PM GMT on 20 February 2026 – register via the conference link.
- Further detail and updates at tbcbankgroup.com. Macro research at tbccapital.ge.
Bottom line
TBC Bank delivered a strong 2025: double-digit income growth, firmer margins, disciplined costs and a higher dividend, underpinned by a powerhouse Georgian franchise. The Uzbekistan business is scaling fast but adds volatility and higher risk costs. With capital solid and cash returns generous, the set-up into Strategy Day looks constructive – provided Uzbekistan’s rebalancing stays on track in H1 2026.
