Banks
UniCredit lifts 2026 profit goal after €3.3bn third quarter
The Italian lender doubled its interim dividend to €4.5bn and said it expects the last Commerzbank approvals by late November.
HedgeWeekly News Desk ·
UniCredit reported third-quarter net profit of €3.3 billion on Monday, up 24% from a year earlier and 12% from the second quarter. Revenue rose 12% to €6.9 billion while costs fell 1%, pushing the cost-to-income ratio down to 32.8%. Return on tangible equity reached 25.5%.
For the first nine months, net profit was €9.4 billion, up 16% once a one-off €653 million gain booked in the second quarter of 2025 is excluded. The bank raised its 2026 net profit ambition to well above €11.5 billion before extraordinary charges, from well above €11 billion previously. It kept its standalone targets of well above €13 billion for 2028 and well above €15 billion for 2030.
Shareholders get a larger payout. UniCredit will pay an interim dividend of €4.5 billion, about €3.00 per share and more than double last year's interim, with an ex-dividend date of 23 November and payment on 25 November. Its CET1 capital ratio stood at 15.0% after deducting accrued distributions, which are set at 80% of net profit.
For funds and allocators, the Commerzbank timetable is the item to track. UniCredit said it expects remaining approvals by late November, with a programme to integrate the German lender starting by the first quarter of 2027. At a stake of about 50%, it projects pro-forma CET1 of at least 13% at consolidation and says 2026 distributions are unaffected. Watch the approvals, the settlement date and any word on a combination with its German unit HVB, which it says could add value earlier than expected.