Santander Portugal profit fall more than 50% in H1

Santander Portugal posted a 52% decline in profits in the first half of this year. Net profit of €81.4 million represent a reduction to less than half of what the bank had achieved in the first half of last year, and this is a reflection of the macroeconomic context.

“The results for the first half of 2021 continue to reflect the pandemic situation and the respective effects on economic activity in general,” says Pedro Castro e Almeida in the presentation of the bank’s results. “The first half of 2021 was very challenging for all our teams,” the CEO adds in the statement in which he reveals net results of €81.4 million.

In fact, net impairments of €68.8 million had an impact on the bank’s first half results, reflecting “the incorporation of the forward-looking component of the macroeconomic scenario, as shown in the different projections made by national and international institutions, which show a gradual recovery in activity, although differentiated between sectors of activity”.

In addition, in the first quarter “an extraordinary cost was recorded, amounting to €164.5 million, to address the ongoing transformation plan, with the optimisation of the branch network and investments in processes and technology.”

Despite the drop in profits, Santander Portugal revealed that “operating income increased 8.7%, reaching €716.6 million and operating costs fell 1.2%, totalling €284.2 million, meaning that operating income rose 16.3% and the efficiency ratio fell 4.0 percentage points (p.p), to 39.7%.”

As for net interest income, it “amounted to €383.4 million, equivalent to a decrease of 4.0% year-on-year, an evolution which is essentially attributable to the reduction in credit spreads.”

On the other hand, commissions increased. The bank revealed that net commissions showed growth of “10.9%, reaching €203.1 million at the end of the six-month period.”