State-owned Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena (BMPS.MI) on Wednesday posted a profit of 1.23 billion euros ($1.32 billion) for October-December, hitting in a single quarter its guidance for the full year, and said it would return to pay a dividend.
Bailed out by the state in 2017, Monte dei Paschi (MPS) has been restructuring under CEO Luigi Lovaglio who pulled off a make-or-break capital raise in November 2022.
Revenues, including net fees, strengthened in the fourth quarter compared to the previous one, but the result was mainly boosted by a positive tax effect and the release of funds Monte dei Paschi had set aside to cover possible legal risks.
After positive court rulings in recent months in a number of cases involving the bank, MPS was able to release 466 million euros in provisions against risks.
The lender, which is currently 39% owned by the state after the successful placement of a stake on the market in November, said it would pay out 315 million euros as dividends, two years earlier than anticipated and for the first time since 2011.
Taking into account the distribution plans, MPS said its core capital amounted to 18% of risk weighted assets, well above that of sector leaders UniCredit (CRDI.MI) (16%) and Intesa Sanpaolo (ISP.MI) (13%).
Improving on his previous forecast, in November Lovaglio had said net profit would top 1.1 billion euros in the full year.
Analyst polled by the bank had looked for a 1.3 billion euro profit.
Net profit in 2023 instead came in at 2.05 billion euros, as higher rates drove up income from lending by nearly 50% and costs fell after MPS used the money from its latest capital raise to finance costly voluntary staff exits.
($1 = 0.9296 euros)
(This story has been corrected to say '13' instead of '11' years in the headline)
