MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s Banco BPM on Tuesday said it had raised its outlook on net earnings per share in 2022 and 2023 after profits in the third quarter beat expectations thanks to higher rates.
Italy’s third-largest bank said its net profit for the three months through September rose 14.3% from a year earlier to 126.5 million euros, above a 116 million-euro forecast in a Reuters analyst poll.
The bank said it expected 2022 net earnings of 45 euro cents per share, rising to above 60 euro cents per share in 2023.
It had previously set its EPS forecast at 40 euro cents this year and 50 euro cents the next.
It also confirmed a payout ratio target of 50%.
Banco BPM’s net interest income rose 6.7% in the third quarter from a year earlier, more than offsetting a decline in net fees, while the net financial result doubled from a year ago.
Banco BPM, whose largest shareholder is French bank Credit Agricole, said it expected to conclude by the end of the year an evaluation process to pick a non-life insurance partner.
The race pits French insurer AXA, which already partners with Monte dei Paschi di Siena in Italy, against Credit Agricole for an investment worth around 300 million euros, sources said last month.
($1 = 0.9922 euros)
(Reporting by Valentina Za; Editing by Chris Reese)