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BNP Paribas SA cut its profitability target for this year as fourth-quarter net profit rose significantly.
France’s largest listed bank BNP, +1.97% by assets now expects a return on tangible equity of 10% this year, down from previous expectations of more than 10.5%, it said Wednesday.
Net profit for the fourth quarter rose 28% to 1.85 billion euros ($2.04 billion), in line with analysts expectations, according to a consensus forecast provided by FactSet.
Revenue rose almost 12% to EUR11.33 billion.
The bank said it would pay a dividend of EUR3.10 a share, 2.6% higher than the previous year.
No transformation costs are expected for this year, which should help the lender reduce spending by roughly EUR700 million from last year. BNP expects to generate additional recurring savings of EUR1.5 billion this year, thus achieving the EUR3.3 billion target of its 2020 plan.
BNP’s core Tier 1 capital ratio–a key measure of capital strength–was 12.1% in December from 12% at the end of September.
