RBS 1Q Profit Beat Expectations; Brexit Weighs on Revenue Outlook
April 26 2019 - 2:53AM
Dow Jones News
By Adam Clark
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS.LN) beat market
expectations for its first-quarter profit but warned Brexit
uncertainty is likely to weigh on short-term revenue growth.
The U.K. bank said Friday that it made a quarterly pretax profit
of 1.01 billion pounds ($1.30 billion), down from GBP1.21 billion
in the year-earlier quarter. Net profit fell to GBP707 million from
GBP808 million.
RBS said the profit fall was largely due to lower income but the
results were ahead of market expectations. Analysts had forecast an
operating profit of GBP900 million and a net profit of GBP546
million, according to company-compiled consensus.
Revenue dropped to GBP3.04 billion from GBP3.30 billion, driven
by lower net interest income. RBS's net interest margin --the
difference between what it earns on lending and pays for funding--
declined to 1.89% from 1.95% in the preceding quarter.
"While we retain the outlook guidance we provided in the 2018
Annual Results document, we recognize that the ongoing impact of
Brexit uncertainty on the economy, and associated delay in business
borrowing decisions, is likely to make income growth more
challenging in the near term," RBS said.
The bank's Common Equity Tier 1 ratio--a key measure of
balance-sheet strength--remained stable at 16.2%.
Write to Adam Clark at adam.clark@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 26, 2019 02:38 ET (06:38 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE:RBS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024