Intesa Raises Profit Guidance as Monte Dei Paschi Bid Nears — Update

By Michael Hennessey

Intesa Sanpaolo raised its 2026 net profit outlook for the second time, citing higher revenue and stable costs, as the Italian bank prepares to launch its bid for smaller rival Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

The lender on Tuesday said it expects net profit for the year to be well above 10 billion euros ($11.19 billion) compared with a previous guidance for over 10 billion euros. It previously raised profit guidance with its second-quarter results, from around 10 billion euros, and reported net profit of 9.32 billion euros for 2025.

The bank raised its outlook due to higher revenue, mainly driven by commissions and insurance income, stable costs and a significant reduction in provisions, it said. The upgrade comes despite a tax hit from the Italian government's 2026 budget, which the company said is worth almost 1 billion euros.

Intesa reported net profit of 2.645 billion euros for the third quarter, up from 2.37 billion euros for the same period last year. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had forecast 2.54 billion euros.

Operating income, the bank's top-line figure, grew 4.2% to 6.92 billion euros, below consensus expectations of 7.03 billion euros.

The bank said net interest income, net fee and commission income and income from its insurance business all rose.

Intesa announced an interim dividend of 3.81 billion euros, or 22 euro cents a share, as a payout on the 2026 results.

The implementation of the bank's business plan for 2026 to 2029 is proceeding at full speed, Intesa said. The company is reducing costs, helped by investment in technology, it added.

The Italian bank is nearing a conclusion to its long-running attempted takeover of Monte dei Paschi, after the smaller bank's shareholders rejected a defense plan against Intesa's 31.4 billion-euro offer last week.

Intesa has received authorization from the European Central Bank for the takeover, but is still awaiting approval from the Italian markets regulator as well as the country's antitrust body, which is expected early next week.

The acceptance period for Intesa's takeover offer is due to start later this month.

The bank will reach its business plan targets three years ahead of schedule if the acquisition of Monte dei Paschi is successful, it said.

Intesa expects the combined group to deliver net income of over 16 billion euros in 2029. It forecasts total shareholder distributions of around 61 billion euros over the 2025-29 period, or 11 billion euros more than in the business plan.

Write to Michael Hennessey at michael.hennessey@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 03, 2026 08:52 ET (13:52 GMT)