UniCredit Shares Jump on Plan to Boost Shareholder Returns, Outlook Upgrade

By Adria Calatayud

UniCredit shares jumped after the Italian bank said it plans to boost its capital distributions to shareholders and upgraded its 2024 profit outlook.

At 0906 GMT on Monday, shares in UniCredit traded 9.8% higher at EUR29.30. This took its gain over the past year to nearly 63%, against a 5.9% rise in the Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index in the same period.

UniCredit said it plans distributions to shareholders of 8.6 billion euros ($9.28 billion) corresponding to 2023, including dividends and share buybacks. This represents an increase of EUR3.35 billion compared with 2022 distributions, it said.

Shareholder returns for 2024 are expected to rise to EUR10 billion, UniCredit said. The bank had previously indicated it expected 2024 shareholder distributions of at least EUR6.5 billion.

For 2024, the bank expects a profit in line with the EUR8.6 billion it reported for last year, against its previous forecast of at least EUR7.25 billion.

Analysts had forecast UniCredit's 2024 profit and revenue at EUR7.74 billion and EUR22.61 billion, according to consensus figures provided by the bank.

UniCredit's fourth-quarter net profit climbed to EUR2.81 billion from EUR2.46 billion in the same period a year before, on revenue that rose 4.6% to EUR5.98 billion driven by higher interest rates. The results exceeded consensus estimates provided by the bank.

The bank's results send strong messages and come alongside distribution plans for 2023 and 2024 that seem positive, Barclays analysts Paola Sabbione and Dibin Meledath Koruthu said in a research note.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2024 04:29 ET (09:29 GMT)

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