UniCredit, Italy’s largest
bank by market capitalisation, posted a net profit of €1.7bn
($2.3bn) for fiscal 2009, a slump of 58% on the year before, but
ahead of analysts’ forecasts.
The group, which has operations in 22 countries
across Europe, also recorded a dip in retail profits, with pre-tax
profit falling 68.8% to €945m in 2009 compared to the year before
(€3.02bn).
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The chief executive of the Milan-based bank,
Alessandro Profumo, said a stronger capital 1 ratio and growing
customer demand would position the bank “in a very strong position
to capture market share” as soon as lending activity picks
up.
Retail loans fell 6.8% from €180.2bn for 2008
to €167.9bn, but Profumo remained upbeat and said this was still a
“significant number” when compared to other European banks.
Retail deposits rose 9.3% to €235.8bn at the
end of 2009.
Core Tier 1 ratio was strengthened from 7.62%
at the end of 2009 to 8.47% at the end of February following a €4bn
capital increase, after the bank turned down participation in a
government-sponsored capital raising initiative.
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By GlobalDataThe bank also said it expected 2010 to be more
stable and was looking at a possible purchase of
Swedish-headquartered SEB’s German retail network consisting of 170
branches.
A combination of high revenues and
significantly lower costs meant the bank was able to improve its
cost-income ratio by 6.5%age points, to 55.6% at the end of
2009.
The group’s fourth quarter results beat
expectations with a net profit of €371m, versus €394m in the third
quarter.
Investment bank Keefe, Bruyette and Woods said
in a note that the results were boosted by higher-quality net
interest income and fees. Although the bank’s exposure to Central
and Eastern Europe, seen as a weakness during the crisis, also hit
the bank with revenue in the region slipping to €908m from €2.02bn
in 2008, it predicts growth in the region in 2010.
The Italian retail division contributed 26% to
total group revenues, and posted pre-tax profits of €848m, down
68.2% year-on-year.
|
PERFORMANCE |
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|
UniCredit – fundamentals, |
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|
2009 |
2008 |
% change |
|
|
Net interest income (€bn) |
17.6 |
19.3 |
-9.1 |
|
Net fees and commissions (€bn) |
7.7 |
9.0 |
-14.4 |
|
Group pre-tax profit (€bn) |
1.7 |
4.02 |
-58 |
|
Group total assets (€bn) |
929 |
1,046 |
-11.2 |
|
Retail pre-tax profit (€m) |
945 |
3,026 |
-68.8 |
|
Retail loans (€bn) |
167.9 |
180.2 |
-6.8 |
|
Retail deposits (€bn) |
235.8 |
215.9 |
9.3 |
|
Cost-income ratio (%) |
55.6 |
62.1 |
(650) bps |
|
Total branches |
9,799 |
10,251 |
-4.4 |
|
Source: UniCredit |
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