Shares in Intesa Sanpaolo Rise After 3Q Results - Update

Adds share price, outlook, details

   By Pietro Lombardi 
 

Shares in Intesa Sanpaolo SpA (ISP.MI) jumped Tuesday after the bank's net profit rose above expectations in the third quarter.

Net profit for the period rose 28% on year to 833 million euros ($949 million), the Italian bank said.

Operating income rose slightly to EUR4.27 billion.

Analysts had expected the Italian bank to report a net profit of EUR787 million for the quarter, according to a consensus forecast provided by FactSet.

At 1237 GMT shares trade 2% higher, while Italy's benchmark FTSE MIB index is down 0.4%.

Shares in Intesa and other Italian banks have been under pressure recently, as concerns over the country's budget have driven up the BTP-Bund spread.

Intesa's pro-forma fully-loaded common equity Tier 1 ratio, a key measure of capital strength, rose to 13.7% at the end of September from 13.6% in June.

Provisions for bad loans declined both on quarter and on year, coming in at EUR519 million for the quarter.

Looking ahead, the bank expects 2018 income to be higher than last year's, excluding from the 2017 results a EUR3.5 billion public contribution related to the rescue of two regional banks.

"An increase in revenues, continuous cost management and a decrease in the cost of risk are envisaged as the drivers of the expected performance of net income," it said in a statement.

"The dividend policy for 2018 envisages the distribution of an amount of cash dividends corresponding to a payout ratio of 85% of net income," it added.

Write to Pietro Lombardi at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 06, 2018 08:03 ET (13:03 GMT)

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