Commerzbank Q4 net profit up 12%, better than expected

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germanys Commerzbank said on Thursday that net profit rose a better-than-expected 12% in the fourth quarter, helped by higher interest rates and capping a second consecutive year of full-year profit as it undergoes a major restructuring.

The bank said it would aim for a 2023 result that is “well above” 2022, helped by higher interest rates and despite “another demanding year in view of the challenging environment”.

Commerzbank, one of Germanys best-known banks, has been cutting thousands of workers and hundreds of branches to save on costs and lift profits.

Net profit of 472 million euros ($505.32 million) in the quarter compares with a profit of 421 million euros a year earlier. Analysts had on average expected a profit of more than 350 million euros, according to a consensus forecast published by Commerzbank.

The figures helped Commerzbank book a second consecutive year of profit, and the bank is a candidate to rejoin the prestigious DAX index of blue-chip companies.

($1 = 0.9341 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Marta Orosz, Editing by Rachel More)