PARIS, May 3 (Reuters) – French bank Societe Generale’s (SOGN.PA), opens new tab net income fell less than expected in the first quarter, as profits on equity derivative sales offset weaknesses at its retail bank and in fixed-income trading.
France’s third-biggest listed lender, whose CEO Slawomir Krupa is seeking to end several years of lacklustre performance and trim costs, said on Friday group net income over the first three months of the year was 680 million euros ($729 million).
This was down 22% from a year earlier but still beat the 463 million euro average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by the company. Sales slipped 0.4% to 6.65 billion euros, above analysts’ 6.46 billion euro average estimate.
SocGen’s shares jumped more than 5% in early Paris trade to their highest since March 2023, in their biggest one-day increase since March 2022.
French rival Credit Agricole, which also reported earnings on Friday, posted a forecast-beating 55% jump in first-quarter net profit, driven by corporate and investment banking sales.
Source: REUTER
