IBOS member Banco Santander has announced its attributable profit for the first nine months of 2018, which reached 5,742 million euros – an increase of 13%.

Banco Santander increased attributable profit during the first nine months of 2018 by 13% to €5,742 million (+28% in constant euros), as strong growth in revenues in several markets, including Brazil, Spain, Mexico and Portugal, combined with improvements in credit quality, more than offset the impact of exchange rate depreciation against the euro in certain currencies, including the Argentine peso.

Profit before tax increased by 23% Year-on-Year (YoY) in constant euros to €11,230 million, with underlying profit increasing in eight of the Group’s ten markets.

In Q3 2018, attributable profit was €1,990 million, 36% higher than Q3 2017, which was impacted by €515 million in one-off charges, including 300 million restructuring charge for Banco Popular. Profit before tax for the Q3 2018 was up 17% YoY in constant euros.

Gross income in the first nine months of 2018 increased by 9% in constant euros to €35,882 million, with the Group increasing lending and customer funds by 3% and 4% respectively in constant euros, while increasing the number of loyal customers (people who see Santander as their main bank) by 19% to 19.6 million.

In the first nine months of 2018, the number of customers using digital services increased by 24% YoY to 29.9 million, with the ongoing investment in technology driving an increase in digital service adoption.

In September, Openbank, the Group’s 100% digital bank, launched an automated investment service as well as new developments and functionalities, including, among others, a secure password manager feature, and an account aggregator to connect accounts and products from other banks. Also during the quarter, Santander UK launched the Digital Investment Advisor, a new investment advisory tool for retail customers, available on mobile.

In Poland attributable profit increased by 8% to €236 million (+8% in constant euros) as loan growth continued across all key products and segments and credit quality remained strong. In September, Bank Zachodni WBK successfully completed a rebrand to Santander, allowing the business to take advantage of from the benefits that come from being part of a common, internationally recognised brand.

In Portugal, attributable profit increased by 15% to €364 million, driven by further improvements in efficiency and lower cost of credit. The full integration of Popular was concluded in October 2018.

Below is a summary of Banco Santander’s financial highlights:

The Bank has earned the loyalty of a further 3.1 million customers in the last twelve months, with lending and customer funds increasing by 3% and 4% respectively Year-on-Year (YoY) in constant euros (i.e. excluding movement in exchange rates).
The number of customers using digital services increased to 29.9 million, up 24% YoY, as the Group digital transformation continued to deliver new and improved services for customers.
Credit quality improved further during the quarter with the Group non-performing loan (NPL) ratio now at 3.87%, 37 basis points lower than 30 September 2017, while the cost of credit fell by 14 basis points in the same period to 0.98%.
In Q3 2018 alone, attributable profit was €1,990 million, 36% higher than Q3 2017. Profit before tax for the third quarter was up 17% year-on-year (YoY) in constant euros.
The Group remains one of the most profitable and efficient banks among its peers, with a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 11.7%, and a cost-to-income ratio of 46.9%.
The Group’s fully loaded CET1 ratio reached 11.11% at 30 September 2018, up 31 basis points in the quarter driven by strong organic capital generation.
The Group remains on track to grow earnings per share by double digits in 2018 with EPS increasing to €0.331, up 5% compared with the first nine months of 2017. Compared to the second quarter of 2018, Tangible Net Asset Value per share increased by 1.5% to €4.16.

Read the full press release, via Santander, here.