Italy’s second largest bank raised its adjusted profit expectation for 2023 from 6.5 billion euros to 7.25 billion euros. The bank’s investor returns are also expected to be around 6.5 billion euros or higher.
Italy’s second largest bank increased its adjusted profit expectation for 2023 from 6.5 billion euros to 7.25 billion euros. The bank’s investor returns are also expected to be around 6.5 billion euros or higher.
Andrea Orcel, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, has focused on areas with better performance while cutting costs since taking office in 2021. Bloomberg reports that as the European Central Bank continues to raise interest rates, the bank plans an additional 500m euros in cost cuts to offset higher-than-expected inflation.
“While we cannot predict macroeconomic outcomes, we know we are ready for the future,” Orcel said in a statement. Stating that they have no doubts that they will reach their 2023 targets, Orcel stated that profit expectations “form the basis” in reaching the target.
The bank’s second-quarter net profit rose to 2.3 billion euros, beating expectations of 1.9 billion euros. Despite the inflationary pressures, the bank stated that they reduced costs by 1 percent by not growing and not restricting investments.
UniCredit made an additional provision of 21 million euros for this quarter, against analysts’ expectations of 280 million euros. Orcel emphasized that the bank is “prepared” for macroeconomic uncertainties.