Paris, Nov 06: French bank BNP Paribas posted a stronger than expected 69% rise in third-quarter net profit on Wednesday in results that compared favourably to those of European rivals, thanks to investment gains and a rebound in financial markets. But shares in the euro zone’s largest bank by market value edged up only slightly as profits were broadly in line with forecasts once one-time capital gains were stripped out.
The bank earned 970 m euros ($1.1 bn) in the quarter, compared with a consensus of analysts’ forecasts of 769 m euros and with the 573 m euros made in the same period last year, when a stock market downturn forced BNP to make provisions for a drop in value in its investment holdings. Bureau Report