MILAN (AP) – Italian bank UniCredit on Thursday said second-quarter profits grew by 3 percent as it undergoes a major turnaround under CEO Jean Pierre Mustier, who was appointed one year ago.
Since then, Italy’s biggest bank by assets has disposed of its Pioneer investment arm, the Pekao Polish subsidiary and raised 13 billion euros in capital, while reducing personnel and branches in overall cost-cutting moves.
The bank said net profit was 945 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in the three months ended June 30, compared with 916 million euros a year earlier, as the bank disposed of non-core units, cut costs and saw higher fees and commissions.
The Pekao sale, completed in July, cost the bank 310 million euros in negative currency devaluations; excluding the Pekao disposal, net profit improved to 1.3 billion euros, the bank said.
“UniCredit’s good 2017 second-quarter results confirm the early positive impact of Transform 2019, already seen in Q1,” Mustier said, referring to the turnaround plan. “All our teams remain focused on the execution and the successful delivery of the plan.”