- ORIGINAL NEWS
Societe Generale posts sharp profit drop as net banking income slides
- SUMMARY
Societe Generale, France’s third-largest listed bank, reported a decline in its fourth-quarter net profit due to weaker net banking income.
The annual net banking revenue saw a 9.9% year-over-year drop.
Despite this, the bank’s group net income slightly exceeded analyst expectations, posting 430 million euros against a consensus estimate of 404 million euros.
The bank’s CEO, Slawomir Krupa, described 2023 as a transitional and transformative year, aiming for revenue growth of 5% or more in 2024.
The bank highlighted the online and mobile banking subsidiary BoursoBank, which saw record growth in new client acquisition, reaching 5.9 million total clients by the end of 2023.
Societe Generale is proposing a cash dividend of 90 cents per share and will initiate a 280 million share buyback, equivalent to 35 cents per share.
The bank also reported a CET1 ratio of 13.1%, a return on tangible equity of 1.7% for the fourth quarter, and a cost-to-income ratio of 78.3%.
- NEWS SENTIMENT CHECK
- Overall sentiment:
neutral
Positive
“Societe Generale on Thursday reported a sharp decline in fourth-quarter net profit on the back of weaker net banking income, but launched a new 280 million euro ($302 million) share buyback program.”
“Group CEO Slawomir Krupa said 2023 was “a year of transition and transformation” for the bank, which is targeting revenue growth of 5% or above in 2024.”
Negative
“Annual net banking revenue dropped 9.9% year on year to 5.96 billion euros, which the bank attributed largely to a decline in net interest income in French retail, private banking and insurance.”
“Thursday’s result took France’s third-largest listed bank’s annual net profit to 2.49 billion euros, slightly above analyst expectations of 2.15 billion euros. However, quarterly net banking revenue dropped 9.9% year on year to 5.96 billion euros…”