“What a year: I am very proud, we are on the right track to become a large pan-European bank”. These are the first words of the CEO of Unicredit, Jean-Pierre Mustier, in commenting on the more than satisfactory 2017 of the bank in Piazza Gae Aulenti, which returned to profit after an eventful period in which the institution closed in the red by 11,8, 2016 billion in 13 and require a record capital increase of XNUMX billion. In the calendar year just ended, Unicredit recorded a net profit of 5,5 billion, which adjusted to 3,7 billion, very close to the target of 4,7 set for the end of 2019. The accounting profit alone for the fourth quarter came close to one billion euros: "Our best fourth quarter in the last decade", recalled the French banker.
The adjusted net profit is the result of the effects of the Bank Pekao and Pioneer sales, an operation which Mustier claimed in response to both analysts and the press: "It is important that the bank continues to be the core business, because this is the bank of the future”. "We have met all the targets of the business plan", the French manager also underlined, explaining that Unicredit is on the right track in achieving all the objectives - some of which have already been almost completely achieved - of the Transform 2019 plan, inaugurated in 2017 and which Mustier intends to make Unicredit one of the few successful pan-European banks: “Will acquisitions be needed for this? Our plan is a marathon – Mustier replied in the conference -, until 2019 we will be focused on that. After 2019, we will see if there will be opportunities for acquisitions and to grow organically. But for now, let's just think about the plan."
A plan that is already "on track, with tangible results". The derisking strategy has already led to the sale of Npl 17,7 billion (-15,5% over the year), with a ratio between gross impaired loans and total loans still above 10%, while that between net impaired loans and total is already less than 5%. EBIT grew by 73,7% to 5,7 billion, just as revenues improved, now very close to 20 billion compared to €19,2 billion in 2016, thanks to commercial performance and cost and risk management. In fact, operating costs have already been cut by 4% to 11,4 billion: in 2019 they will have to be less than 11 billion, with a cost/income ratio set at 52% from 57,9% today, down from 61,3 % of 2016. Out of the 944 branches to be closed between now and the next two years, 682 have already been closed, 72%.
Unicredit, which has also set April 12 for the meeting which will propose to the shareholders the appointment of Fabrizio Saccomanni as chairman and the confirmation of Jean-Pierre Mustier as managing director (in addition to various changes in the composition of the future Board of Directors), has already received the applause of the markets: in the afternoon the one in piazza Gae Aulenti is by far the best title of the FtseMib. In contrast with the "bad" day of Piazza Affari, Unicredit earns 3,5% above 18 euros per share.
At that point, at the end of the conference Mustier had no choice but to answer the question about the imminent Italian political elections and the scenarios that could emerge the next day for Unicredit and for the banks. “I'll tell you an anecdote – replied Mustier -: in the aftermath of Macron's victory over Le Pen in last year's French presidential elections, the European banking stock that gained the most on the stock market was neither BNP Paribas nor Société Générale, nor Deutsche Bank, but Unicredit. This means that what is good for Europe is good for Italy and is good for Unicredit. Therefore whichever coalition wins, it is good that it works in favor of Europe”.
