Banco Santander closed the second quarter with a net profit of 1,39 billion euros. The result is almost a fifth lower than that recorded in the same period last year (-18%), but it is nonetheless higher than analysts' expectations: the consensus, in fact, did not go beyond 1,27 billion euros.
In first semester, on the other hand, the largest bank in the Eurozone by market capitalization posted profits of 3,2 billion euros, 14% compared to the January-June 2018 period.
The profits of the Spanish banking giant were mainly affected by i restructuring costs in Spain (incentivized redundancies of personnel accelerating after the merger of Banco Popular) and in the UK, an operation which caused a contraction in profits of 814 million euros.
In any case, Banco Santander specifies in a note that "all countries recorded good results": in North America, profit rose by 17%, while in Spain ordinary profit rose by 5%, to 694 million, and costs fell by 7% thanks to the synergies "obtained with the integration of Banco Popular".
Thanks to the better-than-expected quarterly numbers, mid-morning the stock of Banco Santander, listed on the Madrid Stock Exchange, gains almost three percentage points, to 4.10 euros.
