Intesa Sanpaolo Raises Net-Income Outlook After Strong Fourth Quarter

Intesa Sanpaolo, the Italian lender, has increased its net-income outlook for 2024-25 following a better-than-expected fourth-quarter performance. The company's profit and revenue were boosted by net interest income and higher interest rates.

In the three months ending December, net profit reached €1.60 billion ($1.72 billion), a significant increase from €1.07 billion in the same period last year. Operating income rose to €6.37 billion, up from €5.67 billion.

Analysts had anticipated net profit of €1.51 billion and revenue of €6.31 billion, according to estimates provided by FactSet.

A key driver of Intesa Sanpaolo's profit growth was net interest income, which came in at €3.995 billion, up from €3.06 billion, benefiting from the rise in interest rates.

To reward its shareholders, the Turin-based lender announced a final dividend of €0.1520 per share for 2023. Furthermore, the company plans to launch a share buyback later this year.

The positive results have prompted Intesa Sanpaolo to raise its midterm net-income target for 2024-25 to above €8.0 billion, previously estimated at €6.5 billion.

As of 12:19 GMT, the company's shares rose by 1.3% to €2.90.