Deutsche Bank AG on Thursday said profit rose strongly in the fourth quarter and beat expectations, after revenue climbed on higher rates, as it completed a wideranging restructuring. The German lender’s
DB,
+0.82%
DBK,
+0.34%
net profit for the three months to the end of December was 1.80 billion euros ($1.98 billion), up from EUR145 million for the same period in 2021.
On an after-tax measure, it reported EUR1.98 billion, well ahead of expectations of EUR1.10 billion, according to a company-provided consensus estimate. The bank said profits were helped by a EUR1.4 billion tax benefit from a deferred-tax-asset valuation adjustment, driven by strong U.S. performance. The quarter was also helped by a gain of around EUR310 million on the sale of Deutsche Bank Financial Advisors in Italy, the Frankfurt-based company said. The results come after a cost-cutting strategy implemented in 2019, which included job cuts and divestments and curtailing its investment-banking operations. Revenue ticked up 7% on year to EUR6.32 billion, with a 39% growth in net interest income at its corporate banking unit, helped by rate hikes, strong operating performance, and favorable foreign-exchange movements, it said. But revenue overall lagged expectations of EUR6.50 billion. At its investment bank, revenue fell 12% on year, as merger and equities advisory services slumped, but fixed-income revenue reached its highest quarter for more than ten years, it said. Costs were contained, the bank added, with a 7% year-on-year reduction in noninterest expenses in 4Q. But provisions for credit losses, amid what it called a more challenging market environment, ticked up to EUR351 million from EUR254 million. Post-tax return on tangible equity in the quarter was 13.1%, and 9.4% in 2022 overall, meaning the lender surpassed its full-year target of 8%. It …