Shares of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the world’s oldest bank, continued their upward trajectory on Monday following the release of better-than-expected second-quarter financial results. At 0830 GMT, Monte dei Paschi shares were trading 5.7% higher at EUR2.68, after already rising more than 3% in Friday’s intraday trading.
The bank posted a net profit of 383.3 million euros ($422.1 million) for the second quarter, a significant increase from the EUR30.5 million recorded in the same period last year. This surpassed analysts’ expectations of around EUR218 million. Azzurra Guelfi, an analyst at Citi, noted that the stronger profit was driven by higher revenue and lower costs.
Monte dei Paschi also saw a notable surge in net interest income, which increased to EUR578.3 million from EUR336.3 million, surpassing consensus estimates by 12%, according to Guelfi.
Looking ahead, the bank has set its sights on a net interest income of over EUR2.1 billion for the full year, along with a pretax profit exceeding EUR1 billion. These targets exceed consensus estimates of EUR2 billion and EUR850 million, respectively, stated Guelfi.
Despite its long-standing struggles with bad loans and a legal scandal, Monte dei Paschi’s fortunes have improved since its nationalization by the Italian government in 2017. The government injected around EUR5.4 billion (over $6 billion at the time) to rescue the beleaguered lender.
In addition to its positive financial results, Monte dei Paschi has also unveiled plans to reduce financed emissions in the power generation, iron and steel, and oil and gas sectors by the end of the decade.