Banco Santander obtained an attributable profit of 2.543 billion euros in the first quarter of this year, 58% more than a year earlier, when the bank took a 530 million charge for restructuring costs.
Ordinary profit, which excludes that impact, rose 19%, the bank told the Spanish National Securities Market Commission (CNMV) on Tuesday.
Santander is confident it will achieve the 2022 targets it announced in February: revenue growth of around 5%, ordinary RoTE of over 13%, an efficiency ratio of 45% and a fully loaded CET1 capital ratio of 12%.
The board also intends to maintain its policy of distributing 40% of ordinary profit to shareholders, divided equally between a cash dividend and share buybacks.
“The first quarter was very good, with customer growth and revenue growth of 8%, improved efficiency and good credit quality. Our return on tangible equity in the quarter was 14.2%, supported by increased connectivity in our businesses and strong risk management. All regions performed well, including Europe, where profitability improved,” said Ana Botín, the lender’s chairman.
