Santander Sees Higher Profitability in 2024 After 4Q Net Profit Jump

By Helena Smolak

Banco Santander said it expects higher profitability in 2024 after the bank reported an increased net profit for the fourth quarter.

The Spanish lender said Wednesday it is targeting mid-single digit revenue growth, a fully-loaded common equity Tier 1 ratio above 12% and a return on tangible equity--a key measure of profitability--of 16% in 2024. For 2023, Santander's return on tangible equity stood at 15.6%.

Santander said net profit for the fourth quarter was 2.93 billion euros ($3.18 billion) compared with EUR2.29 billion reported for the year-earlier period.

Total revenue for the fourth quarter grew to EUR14.55 billion from EUR13.52 billion a year before, with net interest income--the difference between what banks earn on loans and pay clients for deposits--coming in at EUR11.12 billion.

Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected Santander's fourth-quarter net profit to be EUR2.61 billion on total revenue of EUR14.58 billion.

Write to Helena Smolak at helena.smolak@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 31, 2024 01:39 ET (06:39 GMT)

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