UniCredit Shares Jump After 1Q Result, Raised 2023 Guidance

By Pierre Bertrand

Shares in UniCredit rose Wednesday after the Italian bank upgraded its 2023 outlook and published a first-quarter result which exceeded expectations.

At 0816 GMT shares traded 5.5% higher at EUR18.60.

The Italian lender said it made 2.06 billion euros ($2.27 billion) in first-quarter net profit on revenue that grew 18% to EUR5.93 billion.

The result was above expectations of EUR1.31 billion in net profit and EUR5.29 billion in revenue for the quarter, according to an average of analysts' views provided by the bank.

UniCredit benefited in the quarter from higher net interest income, higher trading income and lower loan-loss provisions, Citi analysts said in a research note.

The bank raised its full-year guidance and now expects 2023 revenue above EUR20.3 billion, of which more than EUR12.6 billion will come from net interest income. UniCredit added that it expects 2023 net profit to be higher than EUR6.5 billion.

The upgraded guidance implies more than 15% upside to consensus profit expectations for the year, mainly driven by strong net interest income, Jefferies analysts said in a research note.

Write to Pierre Bertrand at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 03, 2023 04:32 ET (08:32 GMT)

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