MILAN (Reuters) – Banco BPM said on Wednesday it could beat its 2024 earning per share (EPS) guidance after posting a 79.8% rise in nine-month net profit from a year earlier.
Italy’s third-largest bank reported a net profit of 1.7 billion euros ($1.82 billion) in the January-September period, up from 943.4 million a year earlier, as rising revenues and falling loan-loss provisions more than offset an increase in costs.
In August, Banco BPM, whose leading shareholder and main commercial partner is French bank Credit Agricole, raised its EPS forecast to 95 euro cents in 2024 from an earlier guidance of 90 euro cents.
The lender said it confirmed the profit and capital targets set out in its industrial plan through to 2026, which was presented in December 2023.
However, the board approved a proposal to distribute a higher interim dividend of 40 euro cents per share which ensures a total distribution of 1.45 billion euros to shareholders for 2024, an increase of 150 million euros from the amount in the industrial plan.
This move reinforces confidence to exceed the total cumulative shareholder remuneration target of 4 billion euros over the period 2023-2026, Banco BPM said.
Income from lending grew by 6.7% year-on-year in the first nine months, although it was virtually flat in the third quarter.
Revenues totalled 4.27 billion euros, helped also by trading gains from a loss a year ago.
($1 = 0.9341 euros)
($1 = 0.9321 euros)
(Reporting by Andrea Mandalà, editing by Cristina Carlevaro and Sharon Singleton)
