Commerzbank hails 'turnaround' as profits almost triple

Germany's second biggest banking group Commerzbank said today its second-quarter profits had almost tripled, pushed up by higher revenue and a lower tax bill.
Commerzbank was severely hit by the financial crisis, having to be rescued by the state in 2009, and the government still holds a 15 percent stake in the bank. It said the results showed it had managed a successful turnaround.
From April to June the bank made a net profit of 280 million euros (USD 307 million), it said, against 100 million during the same period the year before.
The results are better than analysts predicted, with financial services company FactSet saying the bank's net profits were likely to have come in around 267 million euros.

Frankfurt-based Commerzbank said its net profit more than doubled to 646 million euros during the first half, with a 15.5 per cent rise in turnover to 5.2 billion euros.
"The substantial improvement in our operating income in the first quarter is a clear sign of the turnaround success of Commerzbank," the bank's chairman Martin Blessing said in a statement.

Blessing said the bank was on the "right track" with a "considerable increase" in return on equity during the first half of the year despite higher outlays.
"In 2015, we still expect a rise in revenues and market share," said chief financial officer Stephan Engels.

"The framework conditions for the banking sector are difficult and will remain so in the foreseeable future. For this reason we continue to consistently pursue our objective of becoming leaner, more efficient and more customer-centric.