MADRID, May 8 (Reuters) - Sabadell on Thursday said its first-quarter net profit rose 59% year-on-year thanks partly lo a lower impact from the renewed banking tax while it cheered up investors with a higher payout as it tries to fend off a takeover from BBVA.
The country's fourth-largest bank in terms of market value reported a net profit of 489 million euros in the January to March period, more than the 434 million euros expected by analysts.
In this quarter, Sabadell booked a charge of 31 million euros related to the new banking levy as it adjusted the impact on a linear quarterly basis based on the tax legislation currently in place, in contrast to 2024 when it booked a full-year charge of 192 million euros during the first quarter.
Sabadell raised the retribution to shareholders to 1.3 billion euros in cash dividends and share buybacks against 2025 results, up from 1.2 billion euros announced in February, as the lender managed to lift its core tier-1 capital ratio by 29 basis points in the quarter to 13.31%.
In an environment marked by lower interest rates, Sabadell's net interest income, a measure of earnings on loans minus deposit costs, in the quarter fell 1.3% against the same period a year ago to 1.22 billion euros, in line with analysts' forecasts.
($1 = 0.8812 euros)
Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by Emma Pinedo and Inti Landauro
Source: Reuters