SocGen beats Q1 forecasts after retail rebound and equities boom

Reuters

30-04-2025

PARIS, April 30 - French bank Societe Generale (SOGN.PA), opens new tab reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, propelled by a continued rebound in retail banking and a jump in equities trading amid volatile financial markets.
First-quarter group net income more than doubled from a year earlier to 1.61 billion euros ($1.84 billion), France's third-biggest listed lender said, exceeding the average estimate of 14 analysts compiled by the company by about 400 million euros. One-off gains from asset sales accounted for half that sum.
Revenues were up by 6.6% to 7.1 billion euros, also beating the 6.9 billion-euro average estimate. The bank said its return on tangible equity -- a key measure of profitability that at SocGen has long lagged rivals -- was 11% in the first quarter, ahead of its full-year target of 8%.
The results come as Chief Executive Slawomir Krupa pushes ahead with a turnaround and cost-cutting plan that, after initially failing to restore investor confidence following years of lacklustre performance, appears now to be bearing fruit.
SocGen's stock is up 73% over the last twelve months, overperforming BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), opens new tab (+11.6%)and a 30% gain for the European banking sector (.SX7P), opens new tab.
Like other banks reporting this week, Krupa said SocGen was sticking with its targets for this year, including sales growth of more than 3%. European lenders have so far shrugged off any major concerns about the economic fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war and most listed banks have recovered nearly all of the big drop in their share prices in early April.
SocGen's French retail division saw its quarterly net interest income -- the difference between what banks earn on loans and what they pay on deposits -- jump by 28% year-on-year, driven by a more than doubling of mortgage loan issuance.
The Paris-based lender's equities business increased sales by 22%, similar to the gains recorded by Wall Street banks but about half the increase at BNP Paribas.
Sales from trading in fixed income and currencies, however, dropped 2.4%, SocGen said.
Overall, the group's investment banking division, its biggest, grew by 10% in the first quarter, beating expectations.
Investors still value SocGen at relatively low levels. The bank's price-to-book ratio has risen to trade near 0.5, up from less than 0.3 in September, but still lagging French peers and other major European lenders.
($1 = 0.8761 euros)