STOCKHOLM, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Swedish financial institution Swedbank (SWEDa.ST) reported a bigger-than-expected rise in internet revenue for the fourth quarter and proposed elevating its annual dividend on Tuesday as surging central financial institution rates of interest helped elevate curiosity earnings.
The financial institution, with roots in Sweden’s two-centuries-old financial savings financial institution motion, reported a internet revenue of 6.81 billion Swedish crowns ($653 million) for the quarter, up from 4.84 billion crowns a yr in the past and better than analysts’ imply estimate of 6.26 billion crowns in a Refinitiv ballot.
Swedbank and its friends have seen a yr of fast price hikes by central banks, aimed toward bringing red-hot inflation again beneath management, which has boosted their curiosity earnings, though the strain on households and companies has solely step by step begun filtering by way of as rising credit score loss provisions.
“Credit score impairments elevated barely because of the weaker macroeconomic outlook, however credit score high quality is sweet and our liquidity place is powerful,” CEO Jens Henriksson mentioned in a press release.
Newest Updates
View 2 extra tales
“In these turbulent instances, Swedbank stands sturdy.”
Sweden’s largest mortgage lender mentioned its internet curiosity earnings, which incorporates revenues from mortgages, rose to 10.92 billion crowns from 6.75 billion crowns a yr in the past. That beat the 9.31 billion crowns estimated by analysts.
Shares within the financial institution rose 2.3% by 0850 GMT, with analysts at JP Morgan predicting upgrades of revenue estimates for the financial institution within the wake of the outcomes.
The curiosity earnings rise, which eclipsed that of competitor SEB (SEBa.ST) final week, yielded “a constructive read-across for the Nordic friends but to report”, the analysts added in a notice.
Swedbank, a rival of banks comparable to Handelsbanken (SHBa.ST) and Nordea (NDAFI.HE), proposed elevating its annual shareholder dividend to 9.75 crowns per share from 9.25 crowns a yr in the past, slightly below the ten crowns per share anticipated by analysts.
Fee earnings dipped to three.45 billion crowns from 3.67 billion crowns a yr in the past, lagging the three.69 billion crowns analysts anticipated.
In the meantime, Swedbank booked credit score impairments of 679 million crowns within the quarter, in comparison with reversals of 67 million crowns a yr earlier, barely worse than the Refinitiv sensible estimate of a 519-million-crown impairment.
Reporting by Niklas Pollard; Enhancing by Terje Solsvik, Savio D’Souza and Alexander Smith
: .
