PARIS: French bank BNP Paribas managed to avoid a slide in profits in the second quarter, due in large part to a gain from selling its stake in the Visa card operator.
The bank said Thursday that in April through June its net profit edged up to 2.6 billion euros ($2.9 billion), much higher than the average of 2.2 billion expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet.
However France's top bank was only able to avoid a drop in profits that has hit many of its European rivals like Deutsche Bank and Banco Santander thanks to exceptional items.
Stripped of these, net profits slid 4.8 percent to 2.2 billion euros.
Among the exceptional items that boosted BNP Paribas's earnings was the sale of its stake in Visa Europe, which brought it a net gain after taxes of around 565 million euros.
"In a complex and changing environment, BNP Paribas delivered again a good performance this quarter," said chief executive Jean-Laurent Bonnafe.
The bank said it increased its core capital ratio, a measure of funds available to absorb potential losses, by a tenth of a percentage point to 11.1 percent.
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