By Valentina Za
MILAN (Reuters) -UniCredit raised its profit outlook on Wednesday and said it would start paying out half of its net income to investors in cash from next year, after posting a higher-than-expected net profit for the third quarter.
UniCredit, Italy's second-biggest bank by assets, is awaiting supervisory approval to become the main investor in German rival Commerzbank (ETR:CBKG), which reported a smaller-than-expected drop in third-quarter income on Wednesday.
"During the quarter, we deployed some of our excess capital and made a strategic investment in Commerzbank, which may or may not eventually lead to a full combination," CEO Andrea Orcel said in a statement.
UniCredit said its net profit for the July-September period totalled 2.51 billion euros, against an average forecast of 2.27 billion euros ($2.48 billion) in a company-compiled consensus.
UniCredit raised its 2024 profit target to over 9 billion euros, up from 8.5 billion euros, and pledged to replicate these results in 2025 and 2026 while boosting shareholder returns.
Starting in 2025, UniCredit will raise its cash payout ratio to 50% of net profit, up from 40%. Orcel has prioritised share buybacks, noting that shareholders favour this form of return.
Revenue in the third quarter edged down 3% from May-June, while rising by the same percentage annually.
Revenue of 6.1 billion euros slightly exceeded analysts' expectations, driven by strong net interest income.
($1 = 0.9158 euros)