Intesa Sanpaolo closes the first nine months of the year with a profit of 4 billion euros, and thus reaches the profitability target expected for 2021 in advance of one quarter. The figure is down by 37.2% compared to 6, 37 billion in the first nine months of 2020 but up by 28.7% compared to 3.11 billion if we exclude the provisional negative goodwill originated in the third quarter of 2020 from the acquisition of Ubi Banca.
Operating income of 15.9 billion
In detail, the third quarter of the year closed with a net profit of 983 million, higher than the 798 million forecast by the consensus of the analysts. The result is not comparable with the 3.8 billion for the same period of 2020, which included, as mentioned, the acquisition of the former popular.
In the January-September period, net operating income increased by 15.4% to 15.9 billion, with net interest at 6 billion (+ 7.2%) and net commissions to 7.1 billion (+ 23.6%) . Operating costs increased by 13.1% to 7.9 billion, for a cost / income ratio which fell to 50.1%.
Impaired to 3.8% gross of total loans
In terms of credit quality, the bank recorded a reduction in non-performing loans, gross of value adjustments, of approximately 47 billion from the peak of September 2015 and of approximately 34 billion from December 2017, exceeding in advance, by approximately 8 billion billion, the reduction target of approximately 26 billion envisaged for the entire four-year period of the 2018-2021 Business Plan. The stock of impaired loans decreased in September 2021, compared to December 2020, by 12.6% gross of value adjustments and by 14.9% net; the incidence of impaired loans on total loans in September 2021 was 3.8% gross of value adjustments and 2% net.
Payout ratio equal to 70% of net profit
As for capital solidity, the Cet1 coefficient net of accrued dividends stands at 14.3% based on the transitional criteria in force in 2021 (the pro forma figure at full capacity is 15.1%). As regards the dividend policy of the group, based on the results of 2021, in line with the 2018-2021 Business Plan, the distribution of an amount of cash dividends corresponding to a payout ratio equal to 70% of profit is expected. net, for which the board of directors today approved an advance payment of € 1.4 billion, equal to € 0.0721 per share, which will be paid on November 24, with coupon detachment on 22.