S&P 500 gains to extend record run, set for positive week
Investing.com -- Norway’s DNB Bank posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, supported by lending growth, increased demand for advisory services, and higher commission income following its acquisition of Nordic investment bank Carnegie.
Shares in DNB Bank rose more than 2% in early trading in Oslo.
Net profit rose 5.9% to 10.8 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.05 billion) for the January-March period, up from 10.2 billion a year earlier. That beat the average analyst forecast of 10.34 billion crowns, based on a poll compiled by the bank.
Pre-provision profit beat analyst estimates by 3%, "driven by higher revenues while costs were slightly higher than expected," Jefferies analysts said.
Net interest income (NII) climbed to 16.41 billion crowns from 15.53 billion last year, slightly ahead of the 16.28 billion expected by analysts.
DNB’s commission and fee income rose 8% year-over-year to a record first-quarter high, driven by strong growth in investment banking and asset management, including NOK 401 million in fees from its newly acquired Carnegie unit.
“Globally, we see increased uncertainty associated with trade conflicts, and a weakened global economy will affect growth in a small, open economy like ours,” CEO Kjerstin Braathen said. Still, she noted that “the Norwegian economy remains strong, and the country has considerable capacity to stimulate growth when needed.”