Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Thursday, April 27, 2023
BERLIN – The year is off to a stronger start than expected at Deutsche Bank, with pre-tax annual quarterly profit growing 12% to €1.85 billion ($2.04 billion). This is the highest quarterly profit result since 2013, the bank said.
In releasing its first quarter results on Thursday, Germany’s largest lender announced it wants to drive earnings even higher and so will find way to further cut costs.
Deutsche Bank said it plans to enact “workforce reductions in non-client facing staff” and “focused reductions in management layers.” It also plans to streamline its construction financing business and further downsize its technology centre in Russia.
Chief executive officer Christian Sewing said the Frankfurt-based institution is “well on track to meeting or exceeding [its] 2025 targets. He said preparations for further share buybacks later this year were being made.
Net profit attributable to shareholders grew 9% year-on-year to €1.16 billion from €1.06 billion a year ago. Earnings per share were €0.61 euro, up from €0.55 in the prior year quarter Deutsche Bank achieved its best annual result last year since 2007.
In summer 2019, Sewing, who had been promoted to the chief executive post just over a year earlier, fundamentally realigned the group, trimming its investment banking activities, ending global equity trading and pressing ahead with the integration of Germany’s Postbank into its retail banking business.
