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BNP Paribas, France's biggest bank by market capitalization, posted a 6.6 percent rise in second-quarter net profit as its acquisition of Fortis assets boosted earnings.
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AP |
Net profit rose to 1.604 billion euros ($2.29 billion), while its gross operating profit rose 44.7 percent from last year to 4.06 billion euros.
BNP Paribas said its acquisition of some of the key assets of struggling European bank Fortis contributed 261 million euros to its net profit. The French group added that its integration of Fortis was on track.
A Reuters poll of 12 analysts gave an average forecast of 3.67 billion euros for the gross operating profit.
BNP Paribas' earnings kicked off the second-quarter results season from France's top banks. Societe Generale reports on Aug. 5 while Credit Agricole and Natixis publish figures at the end of the month.
The world's top banks have so far posted a mixed set of earnings.
While many have reported solid profits — which have led some analysts to believe that the worst of the financial crisis might be over — concerns remain over rising bad debts.
Earlier this week, HSBA posted lower first-half profits while smaller British rival Barclays reported a rise in interim profits.
BNP Paribas said in a statement that it was "well placed to deal with the challenges of the current economic environment."
BNP Paribas shares closed up 0.3 percent higher. The stock has risen 74 percent so far this year, having fallen 59 percent last year.
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes