Italy's second biggest bank UniCredit has today posted a much higher than expected first-quarter net profit thanks to higher revenues driven by fee and trading income and shrinking loan losses.
UniCredit said net profit in the three months to the end of March totalled €887m. That compares with an average estimate of €396m in an analyst consensus provided by the bank.
UniCredit said it expected its 2021 full-year underlying net profit, which strips out one-off items, to be "broadly in line" with its previous guidance of more than €3 billion.
It trimmed its revenue outlook saying it would meet consensus estimates, indicated on its website at €17.2 billion, compared with a previous €17.7 billion euro estimate.
The bank had posted a €2.7 billion loss in the first quarter of 2020 hit by costs borne to lay off people and cut its stake in Turkish lender Yapi Kredi.
UniCredit said new CEO Andrea Orcel expected to conclude the strategic review he started after his arrival in mid-April in the second half of the year and would present it to investors then.
After setting aside €2.2 billion last year in anticipation of Covid-driven future losses, UniCredit said loan loss provisions in the quarter were just €167m, helped by a small release of past provisions.
The bank also improved its outlook for expected loan losses in the rest of the year.
