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Investing.com -- BNP Paribas SA (EPA:BNPP) shares fell around 4% in European trading Thursday after the French lender posted a decline in first-quarter net profit that was in line with expectations. The bank’s solid underlying performance and strong investment banking revenues were offset by the absence of exceptional items seen a year earlier.
BNP reported a net income of €2.95 billion ($3.34 billion) for the three months ended March 31, down 4.9% from the prior-year period, matching consensus forecasts.
Its clean operating profit came in at €4.21 billion, 2% below the company consensus. Underlying operating income for the quarter came in at €3,92 million, 1.5% below consensus.
Group revenue rose 3.8% year-on-year to €12.96 billion, driven by a double-digit gain in its corporate and institutional banking unit. The division benefited from increased market activity and continued to gain market share, helping to support overall growth.
Operating expenses rose 4.0% to €8.26 billion, also missing consensus estimates by 2%.
"An overall in-line result, we think, in a noisy macro market," UBS analysts described the print in a note.
BNP Paribas reiterated its financial goals through 2026, including annual growth targets of over 5% for revenue and 7% for net profit.
CEP Jean-Laurent Bonnafé said the bank is well-positioned to benefit from Europe’s reinvestment momentum, citing Germany’s fiscal plans and the EU’s savings and investment union strategy.
The lender’s common equity tier 1 ratio stood at 12.4% at the end of the quarter, slightly above its medium-term target of around 12.3%. Barclays (LON:BARC) analysts said the figure is "in line with consensus and reassuring."