A “gentle recession” is on the playing cards, in line with Commerzbank CEO Manfred Knof.
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Commerzbank on Friday unexpectedly launched quarterly outcomes, touting “report” annual revenue and saying a brand new share buyback scheme.
The financial institution stated it achieved a 20% improve in web revenue to 2.68 billion euros ($2.78 billion) in 2024. This compares with a $2.47 billion web revenue forecast for the interval, in line with a consensus estimate cited by Reuters.
The group laid out intentions to repurchase 400 million euros of shares and proposed to carry its dividend payout to 0.65 euros per share, in contrast with 0.35 euros per share within the earlier 12 months.
Shares within the lender have been up 2.3% at 1:30 p.m. London time, following the discharge.
The group had initially listed plans to publish its fourth-quarter and annual earnings on Feb. 13, when it additionally intends to ship its annual press convention. The early launch falls in line with German authorized necessities when the quantity of capital return considerably surpasses the expectations of capital markets.
The outcomes come as Commerzbank has been making a case to face alone, after a shock stake construct from Italy’s second-largest lender UniCredit stoked market hypothesis of curiosity in a possible tie-up. UniCredit now owns a direct 9.5% stake and a 18.5% stake by way of derivatives in Commerzbank, after first constructing its stake in September, then subsequently rising its place.
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