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Société Générale’s Profit Jumped 25% in Second Quarter

The headquarters of Société Générale in La Defense, France.Credit...Charles Platiau/Reuters

LONDON — Société Générale said on Wednesday that its profit rose 25 percent in the second quarter, bolstered by gains in its equity trading business as markets remained volatile in the quarter and by robust activity in its mergers and acquisitions advisory business.

Société Générale, one of France’s largest banks, also said that it planned to target further cost reductions in the coming years and that it was aiming to reduce its costs by 850 million euros, or about $931 million, by the end of 2017.

“In the coming months, the group will continue to develop in its strategic areas, capitalizing on the rebound in the European economy, and adapt to the technological and regulatory changes through the rollout of its digital strategy and the continuation of its operating efficiency efforts,” Frédéric Oudéa, Société Générale’s chief executive, said in a news release.

In the second quarter, Société Générale, based in Paris, posted a profit of €1.35 billion, from €1.08 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Its results in the second quarter included a gain of €312 million from the re-evaluation of certain financial liabilities.

The bank also took an additional provision of €200 million for litigation issues, bringing its total provision for legal costs to €1.3 billion.

Net banking income, which is similar to revenue, rose 16 percent to €6.87 billion in the quarter, from €5.9 billion in the second quarter of 2014.

Operating expenses increased nearly 8 percent to €4.12 billion in the second quarter, from €3.83 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Its global markets and investor solutions business was bolstered by a 61 percent jump in equity trading revenue to €799 million. Financing and advisory income revenue increased 25 percent to €685 million in the quarter.

Like that of many of its rivals, Société Générale’s fixed income operations reported lower revenue in the period as market uncertainty in the second quarter weighed on activity. Fixed income revenue declined 15 percent in the period, Société Générale said.

The investment banking unit’s overall profit rose 15 percent to €691 million on revenue of €2.68 billion.

In its French retail banking business, profit increased 20 percent to €419 million.

The bank also said it had pared its losses from the first quarter in Russia, describing the environment there as “gradually normalizing.”

In the first quarter, Société Générale took a write-down of €525 million on the value of its Russian business, which includes Rosbank, a major lender based in Moscow.

Société Générale said that its Russian operations posted a €45 million loss in the second quarter, from a loss of €91 million in the first quarter.

Over all, Société Générale said profit in its international retail banking and financial services operations, which includes its Russian business, declined nearly 7 percent to €312 million.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section B, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: Trading Gains. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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