BNP Paribas sees Q1 profits fall by 21%

by Richard Kilner

Story link: BNP Paribas sees Q1 profits fall by 21%

French banking firm, BNP Paribas Group, has reported its first quarter results for the year.

Revenue fell by 10% on a year-on-year comparison, reaching €7.4bn, although this did mark a rise of almost 7% compared with the final quarter of 2007.

Net profit fell by 21% to just under €2bn.

The worldwide financial crisis did cost the firm, although the hit of €546m was not as large as some competitors, and marked a decline from the €898m damage taken in the previous quarter.

BNP Paribas’ French Retail Banking performed well, with a 6.9% rise on an annual comparison basis, and a 49% rise compared to the previous quarter.

BNL Banca Commerciale and International Retail Services both recorded rises compared to both last quarter and the same quarter last year.

Although both the Asset Management and Services and the Corporate and Investment Banking saw year-on-year declines (10% for the former and 73% for the latter), they also recorded modest quarterly increases of between 3-5%.

The long-term performance of the firm is, overall, worse than it was a year ago when it achieved record profits.

However, without exception, every arm of the business is improving, in some cases substantially, upon the Q4 2007 performance.