(Updated with details, context and stock price)
FRANKFURT, Jan 27 (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank on Thursday reported its best full-year profit since 2011 on the back of a surge in deals, strengthening the position of chief executive Christian Sewing who is due to unveil a new strategy and new plans in March. financial goals.
The German group thus achieved its second consecutive year of profits and its sixth consecutive quarter of profits after having thwarted forecasts of a loss for the fourth quarter.
This performance represents a victory for Christian Sewing, appointed head of Deutsche Bank in 2018, with the aim of turning around the first German bank in difficulties after a series of costly regulatory failures.
“This year we can finally prove to the market that we are sustainably profitable,” Christian Sewing said in a message to employees.
On the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Deutsche Bank shares gained more than 3% in the morning.
UNEXPECTED Q4 PROFIT
Net profit attributable to shareholders of the bank amounted to 145 million euros in the fourth quarter against a profit of 51 million euros a year earlier.
It greatly exceeds the expectations of analysts who expected a loss of around 130 million euros.
Over the full year, Deutsche Bank posted a profit of 1.94 billion euros, a marked improvement compared to the 113 million euros generated in 2020.
Despite the return of profits, the bank still shows a loss of more than 10 billion euros over the last decade.
Chief executive Christian Sewing assured Thursday that Deutsche Bank was on track to achieve a return on tangible equity of 8%, a key profitability target for 2022 that many analysts had questioned.
DEALING BOOM
The group’s investment bank, once its weak point, has become an important source of income, benefiting from the dynamism of market activities and the wave of mergers and acquisitions.
In the fourth quarter, the turnover of this division increased by 1% compared to the previous year, reaching 1.913 billion euros, with a jump of 156% of the revenues from the consulting activity alone.
Revenue from fixed-rate and currency business, one of the bank’s main divisions, fell 14% after strong growth a year earlier.
On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank announced its intention to pay a 2021 dividend, the first since 2018, and the launch of a 300 million euro share buyback program.
(Report Tom Sims and Frank Siebelt; French version Dagmarah Mackos, edited by Blandine Hénault)