Santander Capital Rose as 4Q Profit Beat Expectations -- Earnings Review

By Pietro Lombardi

Banco Santander SA (SAN.MC) reported fourth-quarter results on Wednesday. Here is what you need to know.

NET PROFIT: Quarterly net profit rose above expectations, helped by capital gains. The Spanish bank's bottom line grew 35% to 2.78 billion euros ($3.06 billion), topping expectations of EUR2.59 billion, according to a consensus forecast provided by FactSet. On underlying basis, profit grew 2%.

REVENUE: The lender had quarterly revenue of EUR12.33 billion. This compares with expectations of EUR12.38 billion, according to FactSet.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

-ONE-OFFS: Fourth-quarter results included capital gains of EUR711 million. Of these, EUR693 million were related to the agreement the bank reached with Credit Agricole SA (ACA.FR) to combine their custody and asset-servicing operations, which closed in December.

-REVENUE STREAMS: Net interest income fell 2.4% on year to EUR8.84 billion, while fees were slightly up.

-CAPITAL: The bank's core Tier 1 ratio, a key measure of balance-sheet strength, rose to 11.65% at the end of December from 11.30% as of September.

Write to Pietro Lombardi at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 29, 2020 03:15 ET (08:15 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.