Santander Increases Cash Dividend by 19%

The board of directors of Banco Santander announced today that it will propose at the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM), scheduled for April 4, 2025, a final cash dividend for 2024 of 11 euro cents per share. This will bring the total cash dividend per share for 2024 to 21 euro cents, marking an increase of over 19% compared to the cash dividend for the previous year (17.6 euro cents). The final cash dividend will be paid on May 2, 2025.

The total shareholder remuneration for 2024 will be approximately €6.3 billion (around 50% of the group's attributable profit for 2024), distributed equally between cash dividends and share buybacks, representing an equivalent yield of approximately 7%. The share price has risen by about 60% over the past 12 months. Earlier this month, the bank initiated the second share buyback program for the 2024 financial year. Since 2021, including the ongoing buyback program, Santander will have returned approximately €9.5 billion to shareholders through share buyback programs after repurchasing about 15% of its shares.

Santander achieved an attributable profit of €12.574 billion in 2024, a 14% increase from 2023. The group continued to enhance profitability and value creation for shareholders, with a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 16.3%; earnings per share (EPS) of €0.77, up 18%; and a tangible net asset value (TNAV) per share of €5.24 at year-end. Including the final cash dividend for 2023 results paid in May 2024, and the interim dividend for 2024 paid in November, total value creation (TNAV plus cash dividend per share) increased by 14%.

For 2025, the group has set the following targets: achieve revenues of approximately €62 billion; mid-to-high single-digit growth in fee income in constant euros; reduce the cost base in euros compared to 2024; a cost of risk around 1.15%; a CET1 capital ratio of 13% (operating range of 12-13%); and a RoTE above 17% (around 16.5% post-AT1). Thanks to strong organic capital generation, which enabled the entity to reach a CET1 ratio of 12.8% in 2024, the bank plans to allocate up to €10 billion to its shareholders through share buybacks corresponding to the results of 2025 and 2026 and with the expected excess capital, in addition to the ordinary distribution of cash dividends, subject to the necessary corporate and regulatory approvals.