MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, saw its 2012 first quarter net profit increase six percent year-on-year to 92.2 billion rubles ($2.87 billion) to IFRS, the lender said on Wednesday.
Sberbank’s first quarter net profit was above a consensus forecast of analysts polled by RIA Novosti of 88.4 billion rubles ($2.75 billion). Earnings per share grew to 4.28 rubles ($0.14) per share from 4.02 rubles ($0.125) per share a year earlier.
Net interest income for Q1 climbed 24.9 percent year on year to 156.3 billion, the bank said. It also highlighted strong growth in retail lending which rose 14 percent to 2.051 trillion rubles, with a 3.2 percent increase in loan impairment provisions over the quarter, as customer deposits rose 4.1 percent to 8.255 trillion rubles.
“In 2012, the group’s revenues continued to come mostly from core banking operations, with net interest income and net fee and commission income accounting for 92.5 percent of total operating income before provision for loan impairment for the first quarter of 2012,” the bank said in a statement.
Operating income before provisioning for loan impairment rose 25.9 percent to 207.7 billion rubles mainly due to “strong increase of net interest income, well supported by net fee commission income and other operating income.”