BNP Paribas Raises Targets, to Launch Buyback After Revenue Surges on Interest Income

By Ed Frankl

BNP Paribas SA's fourth-quarter profit fell but revenue rose on bumper net interest income, as it raised its targets to 2025 and said it would launch a 5 billion euro share buyback.

The French bank, the largest in the eurozone by market capitalization, reported net profit of 2.15 billion euros ($2.31 billion) in the three months to December, down from EUR2.31 billion in the same period in 2021.

Revenue rose 7.8% on year to EUR12.11 billion, driven by interest income that jumped 16%.

The results were, however, slightly below expectations of net profit of EUR2.34 billion and revenue of EUR12.19 billion, according to analysts' consensus provided by FactSet.

At its Corporate & Institutional Banking arm, revenue increased 18%, with all three businesses areas growing by double digits.

But commission income fell 5.9% to EUR2.75 billion.

The Paris-based lender also raised its midterm targets, including for net income to grow on average by more than 9% and earnings per share by more than 12% between 2022 and 2025, and now aims for return on tangible equity of around 12% in 2025.

BNP added that it would return EUR5 billion to shareholders via two tranches of share buybacks in 2023, with EUR4 billion related to the recently completed sale of Bank of the West and EUR1 billion in an ordinary distribution.

It has asked the European Central Bank for permission for the first EUR2.5 billion, it said.

The company declared a dividend of EUR3.90 for 2022.

Write to Ed Frankl at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 07, 2023 01:20 ET (06:20 GMT)

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