The Unicredit train knows no stops. The banking group led by CEO Andrea Orcel, in fact, closed the first quarter of the year with a net profit of 2.6 billion, up 24% compared to the same period a year ago. A result that originates from revenues that increased by 7.4% to 6.4 billion, on which the interest margin weighs 3.6 billion (+8.5%) and 2.1 billion (+3.3 %) commissions. Results that boosted the share price on the stock exchange (yesterday +3.5% to 36 euros) which broke through the 60 billion capitalization mark, bringing Unicredit into a very small eurozone club that includes only Intesa Sanpaolo, Bnp Paribas and Banco Santander . Despite this result, however, the CEO said that the current valuation “is far from reflecting the real value of the institute”.
«Unicredit is on the right path to continue achieving exceptional results», commented Orcel. «This result was supported by a significantly improved environment for commissions» and for assets under management. Thanks, continues Gae Aulenti’s number one, “to our attention to customers and to our product factories which has translated into an exceptional commercial momentum”. The results, moreover, went well beyond consensus expectations which expected a result of just over 2.1 billion. As a result, the group has raised its financial guidance for this year, from which it expects profits to exceed 8.5 billion. The prospects are also improving for shareholders: in 2025 and 2026, in fact, the average annual distributions will be higher than those for 2024. The payout (the amount of profit distributed to shareholders) has also been confirmed and will be at least 90%, with the part cash at least 40% and the rest with share buybacks.
The questions about shopping are inevitable, since the institution sits on an excess capital of over 6.5 billion (net of the new Basel IV rules which will come into force next year) «which we will return to our shareholders in the next three years, if we don’t use it in another way.” Orcel, interviewed by Class CNBC, then returned to a concept already expressed on other occasions: acquisitions will be made only if “they add value for us and for the target”. If objectives with these requirements are identified, “we will do them and quickly”, but if they do not “add value, because they are too expensive or because there are no opportunities, we will not do them and we will buy back our shares”. Finally, as regards exposure to Russia: “every single European bank” received a letter “with which the ECB asked to reduce it”.
In the last 2 years Unicredit has reduced it “by 5.6 billion or 91%” and “it will go practically to zero in the next 15-18 months”.
