FRANKFURT: Germany’s Commerzbank, fending off a possible takeover by Italy’s UniCredit, said on Wednesday that net profit fell 14% in thesecond quarter as it booked restructuring costs, but the results were better than expected and the bank raised some full-year targets.
Net profit of 462 million euros ($535.09 million) in the quarter compares with a profit of 538 million euros a year earlier. Analysts had on average expected profit of 369 million euros, according to a consensus forecast published by Commerzbank.
UniCredit has amassed a 20.2% equity stake in the German lender as it pushes for a tie-up between the banks, despite resistance from Commerzbank management, employees and the German government.
Commerzbank executives have been trying to convince shareholders of its standalone strategy by delivering robust earnings.
The bank said it was increasing its net profit outlook for 2025 to around 2.5 billion euros after restructuring expenses, up from an earlier forecast of 2.4 billion euros.
The bank announced earlier this year that it would axe 3,900 mostly local jobs to help it deliver more ambitious profit targets as part of its effort to fight off UniCredit’s advances.
The bank had flagged that it would book most of the resulting restructuring expenses in the second quarter.
They totalled 534 million euros.