Nordea Posts 30% Rise in Fourth-Quarter Net Profit
January 26 2017 - 3:23AM
Dow Jones News
By Dominic Chopping
STOCKHOLM--Nordea Bank AB (NDA.SK) on Thursday raised its
dividend and posted a 30% rise in fourth-quarter net profit as
lower costs helped offset sluggish net interest income.
Net profit at the Stockholm-based bank climbed to 1.1 billion
euros ($1.18 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, from
EUR848 million in the same period a year earlier, beating
expectations of EUR845 million, according to a FactSet poll.
Chief Executive Casper von Koskull said: "Despite a challenging
revenue situation in 2016, we have throughout the year improved our
net interest margin; for 2016, the inflow to our Assets under
Management reached an all-time high."
Net interest income inched higher to EUR1.21 billion from
EUR1.20 billion a year ago.
Credit quality remained solid, it said, with total loan losses
falling to EUR129 million from EUR142 million in the same quarter a
year earlier. More than 90% of the losses in the fourth quarter
came from its oil and offshore exposures and the bank expects
largely unchanged credit quality in the coming quarters, it
added.
The bank expects cost growth of approximately 2%-3% in 2017
compared with reported costs in 2016 and flat costs in 2018
compared with 2016.
The common equity Tier 1 ratio--a key measure of financial
strength--stood at 18.4% at the end of the quarter, up from 16.5% a
year ago. The final dividend was raised to EUR0.65 a share from
EUR0.64.
-Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com; Twitter:
@domchopping @WSJNordics
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 26, 2017 03:08 ET (08:08 GMT)
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