Rain of numbers arriving from the big names in Italian finance.
The group Generali it closed the first nine months of the year with an operating profit of 3,6 billion (+3,9% on year) thanks to "the contribution of all business segments", reads a note. Premiums increased by 6,1%, to almost 50 billion, “due to the positive development of both business segments, with an acceleration in P&C (+2,7%) and Life net inflows growing again at 8,6 billion (+3,3%)".
Net income increased by 26,8% to 1,855 billion, also thanks to non-operating performance and the result of disposals. Finally, the insurance group underlines the solidity of its capital position, with a Regulatory Solvency Ratio at 200% and an Economic Solvency Ratio at 221%, "despite the volatility of the financial markets". The combined ratio is confirmed at "excellent levels" (92,8%).
"It is a very important moment for Generali, there are two weeks left before the presentation of the new plan - underlined the general manager, Frederic de Courtois, in the conference call commenting the financial statements numbers - we are very satisfied with the positive and line with the plan, which make us confident that we will be able to achieve the plan objectives at the end of the year”.
UNICREDIT
As for Unicredit, the third quarter closed with a profit of only 29 million for two reasons: the 846 million writedown of the stake in the Turkish Yapi and the increase in provisions for the American sanctions in the liquidation phase. In fact, adjusted profit is equal to 875 million, up 4,8% on an annual basis but lower than the 907 million expected by the market consensus.
The intermediation margin instead rose by 2% over the year, to 4,8 billion, with net interest at 2,76 billion (+7,2%) and fees and commissions at 1,6 billion (+2,5%). Operating costs fell by 7,7% to 2,6 billion, with a cost/income ratio down to 53,8%. As for capital solidity, the Cet1 ratio is 12,11% on a fully loaded basis.
Unicredit has updated the targets of the Transform 2019 plan to "reflect a difficult macroeconomic context, partially mitigated by the decisive actions undertaken in the third quarter of 2018 and by the continued success in the execution" of the plan, "ahead of expectations". The institute has reduced its revenue target for the current year to 19,7 billion from 20,1 and at the same time lowered its cost target from 11 billion to a lower share. The target on the Cet1 was also revised downwards between 12% and 12,5% compared to the previous indication "above 12,5%".
Unicredit also announced for the first time its earnings target for 2018: the Bank expects profits above 2,8 billion and above 3,6 billion on an adjusted basis. The target for 2019 was confirmed at 4,7 billion with a Rote above 9%. During a conference call with press agencies, the CEO Jean Pierre Mustier, underlined that for 2018 revenues the target on net interest income and commissions (18,1 billion) is confirmed and that the revision is due to an extremely cautious approach on Turkey and on trading.
“Our results are positive and our operating results are extremely strong” despite the challenging environment, Mustier continued. “As a team we continue to focus on executing Transform 2019, which remains ahead of schedule, and we will continue to work hard to confirm Unicredit as a pan-European winner.”
Banco bpm
Very positive results for Banco Bpm, which closes the first nine months of the year with a net profit of 524,5 million, from 52,7 million recorded in the same period last year. In the third quarter of the year alone, the bank achieved a net profit of 171,9 million euros, higher than the consensus, which stopped at 165 million.
Returning to the January-September period, the net interest income amounted to 1,73 billion, net of the reclassifications of the IFRS 9 accounting standards, the figure stood at 1,57 billion compared to 1,55 billion in the first nine months of 2017 Gross operating income was $1,68 billion, compared with $1,16 billion in the same period last year. Net of the reclassifications linked to IFRS 9 and the capital gains linked to non-recurring items, the gross operating result at the end of September amounted to 1,22 billion, from 1,17 billion (+3,7%).
Net write-downs on loans to customers amounted to €953,9 million which, net of IFRS 9, amounted to €793,0 million compared to €987,8 million in the first nine months of 2017. The level of write-downs on loans, adds the bank, "reflects a rigorous valuation approach to maintain high levels of coverage, aimed at seizing any further opportunities to accelerate the derisking process".
On the balance sheet front, the IFRS1 phased-in Cet9 ratio stood at 13,2%, the fully phased one at 11,2%. The stock of net non-performing loans amounted to 9,1 billion euro, down by 3,9 billion compared to the end of 2017 (-30%), while the coverage on non-performing loans rose to 50,6% from 48,8, 2017% in 65,0 and compared to non-performing loans it amounts to 58,9% (against XNUMX%).
Returning to the results of the third quarter, in September the bank finalized the sale to Bnp Paribas Securities Services of the custodian bank and fund administration activities. The countervalue of the transaction, equal to 200 million, resulted in a net positive impact of 145 million on the income statement for the July-September period.
