Deutsche Bank Sees Q4 Profit Drop Less Than Feared; Announces Buybacks, Dividends

Deutsche Bank on Thursday posted a 30% drop in fourth-quarter profit as restructuring costs and other one-off expenses outweighed revenue gains, but the fall was not as steep as analysts feared.

The bank also announced plans for 1.6 billion euros ($1.73 billion) in share buybacks and dividends and raised its outlook for revenue growth. Deutsche plans to trim around 3,500 jobs.

Net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.26 billion euros in the quarter. That compares with profit of 1.803 billion euros a year earlier and is better than analyst expectations for profit of around 700 million euros.

Full-year profit fell to 4.21 billion euros from 5.03 billion euros a year earlier, beating analyst expectations for 3.664 billion.

The drop in quarterly profit was the largest since earnings at Germany's largest bank stabilised earlier in the decade after years of losses.

But the figures nevertheless mark the 14th consecutive quarter and the fourth consecutive year of profits - notable streaks in the black for Deutsche.

Germany's financial regulator BaFin warned recently that 2024 will be less rosy for bank profits as a property crisis weighs in Europe's largest economy and loans go bad.

Still, Deutsche was optimistic, raising its compounded annual growth rate target to between 5.5% and 6.5%, up from between 3.5% to 4.5%.

Deutsche CEO Christian Sewing said he had "firm confidence" the bank could meet its 2025 targets.

(Source: Reuters)