Raiffeisen Bank 1st Half Net Profit Jumped

By Kim Richters

Raiffeisen Bank International AG said late Monday that profit rose strongly in the first half of the year, helped by the sale of its Bulgarian business.

The Austrian bank posted a net profit of 1.71 billion euros ($1.75 billion), up from EUR612 million a year earlier, and this was helped by a EUR453 million gain from the sale of the subsidiary.

Six-month operating profit rose to EUR2.50 billion from EUR1.16 billion, and net interest income increased to EUR2.20 billion from EUR1.51 billion, it said.

Raiffeisen is one of the European banks with the most exposure to Russia, and it said late Monday that "all options relating to Russia and Belarus remain on the table."

The bank updated its outlook for 2022, which now includes net interest income of EUR4.3 billion to EUR4.7 billion, and net fee and commission income of at least EUR2.7 billion. It also expects consolidated return on equity of least 15%, compared with a prior 8%-10% target, and a CET1 ratio above 13%, compared with close to 13% before.

"Medium-term return on equity and payout ratio targets are suspended due to current uncertainties in Eastern Europe," it said.

Write to Kim Richters at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 02, 2022 01:47 ET (05:47 GMT)

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