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☆ Societe Generale posts sharp profit drop as net banking income slides
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Societe Generale on Thursday reported a sharp decline in fourth-quarter net profit on the back of weaker net banking income, but launched a new 280 million euro ($302 million) share buyback program. The French lender posted a group net income of 430 million euros, slightly above a consensus analyst forecast of 404 million euros, according to LSEG data, but well below the 1.07 billion euros recorded for the final quarter of 2022. It comes after the bank posted posted a group net income of 295 million euros for the third quarter, as resilient investment bank performance offset a sharp downturn in its French retail business. Thursday's result took France's third-largest listed bank's annual net profit to 2.49 billion euros, slightly above analyst expectations of 2.15 billion euros. However, quarterly net banking revenue dropped 9.9% year-on-year to 5.96 billion euros, which the bank attributed largely to a decline in net interest income in French retail, and its private banking and insurance division, along with the negative impacts from unwinding hedges.

Persons: Slawomir Krupa, Krupa, BoursoBank Organizations: Generale, SocGen, Global Banking, Investor Solutions, Retail Banking, Soc Locations: France

☆ SocGen Q3 earnings beat estimates as investment bank offsets French slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Societe Generale , France's third-biggest listed bank, posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings onFriday, as a resilient performance from its investment bank offset the steep downturn seen at its French retail division. SocGen's third-quarter reported group net income came in at 295 million euros ($313.2 million), above the 168 million-euro average of 13 analyst estimates compiled by the company. The bank has also finalised the merger of its two French retail networks. NII at the French retail division fell by 27% in the quarter, excluding two regulated savings accounts. In this context, the 0.4% drop in sales seen at SocGen's investment bank, compares well with some of its European peers.

Persons: Slawomir Krupa Organizations: Generale, BNP, Deutsche Bank, Barclays

NII at the French retail division fell by 27% in the quarter, excluding two regulated savings accounts, "well below expectations," JP Morgan said in a note to clients. The French lender said it now saw NII of its French retail, private banking and insurance division falling by more than 20% in 2023. The French retail division's earnings also suffered from hedging contracts against the risks of low interest rates. SocGen's shares had edged up 0.6% by 0924 GMT. The bank has also finalised the merger of its two French retail networks.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, JP Morgan, SocGen, Slawomir Krupa, Jefferies, Krupa, ALD, Mathieu Rosemain, Silvia Aloisi, Ingrid Melander, Emelia Organizations: Societe Generale, La Defense, REUTERS, European Central Bank, BNP, Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Thomson Locations: La, Paris, France

The beat was underpinned by much lower-than-expected "cost of risk" - money set aside for failing loans - of 166 million euros. Analysts had expected 430 million euros. Dubbed a "year of transition" by Krupa's predecessor Frederic Oudea, 2023 is also marked by a severe downturn at SocGen's French retail banking division, fresh from a merger of its two local networks. The second quarter was also affected by negative exceptional items of 240 million euros, which Credit Suisse analysts said were tied to "legacy legal disputes". Retail banking outside France fared better, as did SocGen's car leasing division ALD Automotive (ALDA.PA), whose sales jumped by more than 17% thanks to the acquisition of rival LeasePlan.

Persons: Gonzalo Fuentes, Krupa, Slawomir Krupa, France's, Jefferies, Frederic Oudea, Intesa, LeasePlan, SocGen, Mathieu Rosemain, Augustin Turpin, Ingrid Melander, Mark Potter Organizations: Societe Generale, La Defense, REUTERS, Royal Bank of Canada, European Central Bank, Credit Suisse, Retail, ALD Automotive, Thomson Locations: French, Courbevoie, Paris, France, PARIS, Russia

☆ SocGen beats estimates as bond trading offsets retail banking slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

General view of the logo outside a branch of French bank Societe Generale in Paris. French bank Societe Generale posted better than expected quarterly earnings on Friday after turmoil in bond and currency markets boosted its trading business. The trading windfall cushioned a slump in SocGen's French retail division, where earnings were curbed by stricter interest rate caps on mortgages and other loans. "Performance is tracking well in all the divisions, but the main issue is French retail," JPMorgan said in a note to clients. "We think the market will focus on French NII (net interest income), taking the shares down," it said.

☆ In EU car data tussle, insurers and others brace for delays, disappointment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Companies in Europe and beyond are vying for control of the crown jewels of the connected car era, namely car manufacturers' data covering everything from driving habits, to fuel consumption and tyre wear which can be used to target cash-generating services. Although the EU is currently haggling over the Data Act, a draft law governing the use of consumer and corporate data, insurers and others are pushing for auto sector-specific regulation. A proposal is expected soon after the European Commission launched a consultation last year. Ten industry groups also wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in January urging an end to "repeated delays". A spokesperson for the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) said the Data Act would guarantee fair access to car data, so "additional legislation on access to in-vehicle data is unlikely to achieve more".

☆ Analysis: Investors face dilemma as capital increases fill IPO void
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro | Oliver Hirt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"This is a test as to whether shareholders want to support a company they know well already," he said. In contrast with a drought of initial public offerings (IPO), EMEA companies have raised an overall 33.3 billion euros ($34.99 billion) through capital increases so far this year. Meanwhile, fund managers' cash holdings stand at a near 21-year peak, according to poll data from Bank of America. "However, the market could see more firms turn to shareholders for funding given the rising cost of debt and changing outlook," he added. ($1 = 0.9517 euros)Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Oliver Hirt; Editing by Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Societe Generale's car leasing unit ALD wins EU nod for LeasePlan buy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS, Nov 25 (Reuters) - EU antitrust regulators cleared with conditions French car leasing company ALD's (ALDA.PA) bid for Dutch rival LeasePlan on Friday after the Societe Generale (SOGN.PA) unit agreed to divest some businesses across Europe to address competition concerns. ALD announced the 4.9-billion-euro ($5.1 billion) deal in January, which would give it ownership of the biggest electric vehicle fleet in Europe. The European Commission said ALD agreed to sell its operational leasing businesses in Ireland, Norway, Portugal and LeasePlan's businesses in the Czech Republic, Finland and Luxembourg to address competition worries. It will also provide access to tech services and its used car sales platform for up to 2 years. "These commitments remove the overlaps existing between ALD and LeasePlan's activities in the national markets for operational leasing where the Commission had identified competition concerns," the EU competition watchdog said in a statement.

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