German-Irish bank Depfa, which provides financial services to public sector clients, said today that bottom-line earnings declined in the third quarter as a result of lower trading income.
Depfa, headquartered in Dublin but listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange, said in a statement that net profit amounted to €110m in the months from July to September, down 16.7% year-on-year. Pre-tax profits were down 21.2% at €134m.
Among the different earnings components, net interest income edged up by 1% to €101m and net fee and commission income jumped by 40% to €7m in the three months. But net trading income tumbled by 64% to €9m.
Despite the drop in third-quarter earnings, Depfa said it was 'still on track to achieve our full-year return-on-equity target of 20-25% after tax.'
Depfa said it would increase the dividend payout for this year to 40 cent a share from 25 cent a year earlier.
