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The total shareholder remuneration for the 2024 results will be approximately €6.3 billion.
Madrid, 25 February 2025.
The board of directors of Banco Santander today announced its decision to submit a final cash dividend for 2024 of 11 euro cents per share for approval at the forthcoming annual general meeting (AGM), expected to be held on 4 April 2025. As a result, the total cash dividend per share charged to 2024 results will be 21 euro cents, an increase of over 19% compared to the cash dividend against 2023 (17.6 euro cents). The final cash dividend will be paid on 2 May 2025.
The total shareholder remuneration for the 2024 results will be approximately €6.3 billion (around 50% of the group's attributable profit for 2024), divided equally between cash dividends and share buyback programmes. It represents an equivalent yield of approximately 7%[1]. The Santander share price has increased around 60% in the last 12 months. Earlier this month, the bank started the second share repurchase programme against 2024 results. Since 2021, including the amount of the current buyback, Santander will have returned c.€9.5 billion to shareholders via share buybacks and will have repurchased c.15% of its outstanding shares.
In 2024, Santander achieved record performance for the third consecutive year. As a result, we continue to increase shareholder returns with cash dividend per share from 2024 up 19% year-on-year. Our strategy is proven to deliver profitable growth and we expect to increase our bottom line again in 2025. There is still significant upside in our business and we are committed to continuing to generate value for both our customers and shareholders.
Santander achieved an attributable profit of €12,574 million in 2024, a 14% increase versus 2023. The group continued to increase profitability and shareholder value creation, with a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 16.3%; earnings per share (EPS) of €0.77, up 18%, and tangible net asset value (TNAV) per share of €5.24 at the end of the year. Including both the final cash dividend from 2023 results paid in May 2024 and the interim 2024 cash dividend paid in November, total value creation (TNAV plus cash dividend per share) increased 14%.
For 2025, Santander is targeting [2] revenue of c.€62 billion; mid-high single digit growth in net fee income in constant euros; cost base down in euros versus 2024; cost of risk of c.1.15%; CET1 of 13% (operating range of 12-13%); and RoTE of over 17% (c.16.5% post-AT1). The strength of the bank’s organic capital generation, which resulted in CET1 rising to 12.8% at the end of 2024, should enable the bank to return up to €10 billion to shareholders in buybacks from 2025 and 2026 earnings and the anticipated excess capital, in addition to its standard cash dividend distribution, subject to corporate and regulatory approvals[3].
[1] Per Banco Santander's market capitalization on 25 February 2024.
[2] Targets market dependent. Based on macro assumptions aligned with international economic institutions. CET1 ratio phased-in CRR3.
[3] Share buyback target for 2025-2026 including: i) the buybacks resulting from application of our existing shareholder remuneration policy plus ii) additional buybacks following the publication of annual results to distribute year-end excesses of our CET1. Existing shareholder remuneration policy defined as c.50% of Group reported profi t (excluding non-cash, non-capital ratios impact items), distributed c.50% in cash dividends and c.50% in share buybacks. The implementation of the shareholder remuneration policy and any share buybacks to distribute CET1 surpluses are subject to future corporate and regulatory decisions and approvals.