UCG Unicredit Spa

   By Ed Frankl 
 

Shares in UniCredit SpA rose Wednesday after it raised full-year guidance after reporting its strongest first-half performance in nearly a decade.

Shares at 0810 GMT were up 6.6% to EUR9.21.

The Italian bank now expects to report revenue excluding Russia for the year of at least 16.7 billion euros ($16.9 billion) compared with previous guidance of EUR16 billion.

The company also said it asked for a regulatory green light from the European Central Bank for a new EUR1 billion buyback.

UniCredit posted a net profit of EUR1.82 billion for the quarter compared with EUR960 million a year earlier, well above consensus of EUR996 million, according to analysts' expectations provided by the company.

The company reported a stronger-than-expected operating performance and balance-sheet derisking, including via lower nonperforming loans and Russia exposure, Citi analysts Azzurra Guelfi and Guru Prasad Chowdhary say in a research note.

The bank should expect a higher consensus earnings per share, and investors will also focus on its ability to deliver on its capital returns, they added.

Revenue rose to EUR4.78 billion from EUR4.39 billion in the same period of 2021, and compared with a consensus of EUR4.51 billion.

Common equity Tier 1 ratio--a measure of banks' capital strength--stood at 15.7% at the end of the quarter, up from 14% at the end of the prior quarter and 15.5% a year earlier. UniCredit has a 2022-24 target of 12.5%-13.0%.

Ian Walker and Cristina Roca contributed to this article.

Write to Ed Frankl at edward.frankl@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 27, 2022 04:37 ET (08:37 GMT)

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