The bank said the tax burden in the first quarter was comparatively high, while the second quarter benefited from low tax expenses of €20m
Commerzbank headquarters in Frankfurt (Image credit: Julia Schwager/Commerzbank AG)
German bank Commerzbank has reported a consolidated profit of €271m (£249.2m) for the second quarter of 2019, a decrease of 0.3% compared to €272m (£250.1m) for the same quarter of last year.
The bank’s group revenue was €2.13bn (£1.96bn) for the second quarter of 2019, compared to €2.17bn (£2bn) for the corresponding period of 2018.
Commerzbank board of managing directors chairman Martin Zielke said: “We are continuing on our growth path and are making significant progress in our customer business. Despite all the successes we have made, challenges continue to increase for the industry and for us.
“This might require further investments. And this is exactly what we are examining and assessing in our current strategy process.”
The bank reported a net interest income of €1.27bn (£1.17bn) for the second quarter of 2019, a 7.1% increase compared to €1.19bn (£1.09bn) for the prior year period.
Operating expenses decreased by 3.4% at €1.5bn (£1.38bn) in the second quarter from €1.63bn (£1.5bn) in the previous year.
Earnings per share stood at £0.2 for this quarter
Commerzbank has reported the second quarter pre-tax profit of €318m (£292.5m), a decrease of 18.2% compared to €389m (£357.7m) for the same last year quarter. Earnings per share for the second quarter remained unchanged at €0.22 (£0.2).
Commerzbank chief financial officer Stephan Engels said: “In the second quarter, we were able to further strengthen our common equity ratio as business growth continued. This means that we are well prepared for the expected regulatory burdens like TRIM.
“At the beginning of July, we also optimised our capital structure and further strengthened our total capital by issuing our first AT 1 bond which was significantly oversubscribed.”
The Frankfurt-based bank expects to continue its growth strategy for this year and expects higher revenues than in the previous year. Overall, the bank expects a slight year-on-year increase in consolidated net income for the 2019 financial year.