LONDON — Commerzbank on Wednesday reported a net second-quarter loss due to restructuring costs and an exceptional write-off to an outsourcing project.
The German lender saw a net loss of 527 million euros ($625.7 million) in the three months through to the end of June, roughly in line with analyst expectations of a net loss of 504 million euros.
This was after booking restructuring expenses of 511 million euros and a write-off for ending an outsourcing project of 200 million euros.
“We have kept our Common Equity Tier 1 ratio stable despite the high one-time write-off and restructuring expenses,” Bettina Orlopp, chief financial officer of Commerzbank said in a statement.
“This again proves that we have a very strong basis for the transformation, and it demonstrates that we are also able to deal with exceptional charges on our way to a sustainably profitable future.”
The German bank’s CET1 ratio, a measure of bank solvency, stood at 13.4% at the end of the quarter.
Other highlights of the quarter:
- Revenues reached 1.86 billion euros, an 18.1% drop from a year ago.
- Operating expenses stood at 1.7 billion euros, versus 1.53 billion a year ago.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday, Orlopp said: “On the customer side we are satisfied, if you look at the numbers net commission income is 7% up year-on-year, so that’s a good result.”
She also said that the bank is aiming to achieve an operating profit this year, despite the latest results.
“We are targeting definitely an operating profit, I think the whole question is what happens with net income for the year – that’s tougher to predict,” Orlopp said.
Shares dropped about 4% shortly after bourses opened in Europe.