The reflection of a Deutsche Bank AG logo outside a bank branch in Berlin, Germany, on Monday, March 27, 2023.
Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Deutsche Bank on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net profit of 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion), beating expectations and providing some relief for shareholders.
It marked an almost 30% fall from the same quarter a year ago, although the fourth-quarter figure was significantly higher than the 785.61 million euros expected by analysts.
Deutsche also announced plans to hike share buybacks and dividends by 50%, returning 1.6 billion euros to shareholders.
For the year as a whole, the German lender reported 4.2 billion euros in net income attributable to shareholders — again, beating expectations of 3.685 billion euros.
Thursday’s result was up from a net profit of 1.031 billion euros the previous quarter and 1.8 billion euros for the same period last year.
Amid concerns about bank profitability and reports that the German government is considering a sale of some of its company holdings, including its 15% stake in Commerzbank, Deutsche has emerged as the subject of merger speculation in recent months.
However, CEO Christian Sewing told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that acquisitions were not a “priority” for Germany’s largest bank.
This is a breaking news story, please check back later for more.