MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Banco Sabadell announced on Thursday a net profit of 161 million euros ($181.6 million) in the fourth quarter from a loss of 201 million euros in the same period a year ago thanks to its British unit TSB’s solid performance.
Analysts polled by Reuters expected a net profit of 34 million euros.
The lender said quarterly results were boosted by a 56% year-on-year rise in new mortgage signings in Britain to a record figure of almost 2.17 billion pounds.
Lower impairments for the whole year led the bank to post a 530 milion euros net profit in 2021, way more than the 2 million euros booked in 2020. Analysts expected a 403 million net profit for the full 2021.
This allowed the bank the bank to close the year with a return on tangible equity (ROTE), a measure of profitability, of 5.05% compared to 0.02% in 2020. It now expects a ROTE of more than 6% in 2022, one year earlier than initially targeted in its strategic plan.
(Reporting by Jesús Aguado, editing by Inti Landauro)
