Santander has posted a 10% rise in net profit for the three months to end March of €2.05bn ($2.5bn), beating analyst forecasts.

Excluding currency fluctuations, profit rose by 22%.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

First off, the positives.

Santander’s digital investment is paying off, increasing the penetration of digital sales and transactions.

Santander’s digital customer numbers rose by 24% year-on-year to 27.3 million.

Brazil remains Santander’s most profitable market, contributing net profit for the quarter of €677m, up 27% y-o-y.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Boosted by the Banco Popular acquisition, Santander’s net profit rose by 26% y-o-y- to €455m.

Other highlights included:

  • Loans rose by 13% y-o-y to €856bn;
  • Deposits increased by 16% to €893m;
  • Santander’s turnaround strategy in the US is on track: net profit rose by 52% to €125m, and
  • Group wide, net interest income rose by 11%

Santander ended the first quarter with a branch network of 13,637, up 12% from 12,117 as a result of the Popular acquisition.

Santander’s cost-income ratio inched up by 130 basis points from a year ago to 47.4%.

This year “has started well, with the group generating double digit profit growth driven by strong results in Brazil, Spain and Mexico, and improved performance in the United States,” said Ana Botin, Santander’s executive chairman.

Botin reaffirmed Santander’s 2018 targets including double-digit earnings per share growth.

However, the UK didn’t see its quarter go exactly to plan. Profit before tax totalled £414m, down 21% y-o-y (£525m in Q1 2017). Interest income also dropped in the same time period, from £940m to £906m.

The bank attributed this drop in profit to the collapse of Carillion which led to credit impairment losses of £60m compared to the £13m last year.

Nathan Bostock, chief executive of Santander UK, said: “Our first quarter results have been impacted by ongoing competitive pressures in the UK. However, we have continued to make progress across key areas of the bank, fulfilling our purpose to help people and businesses prosper. We have delivered exceptional growth in mortgage lending this quarter, and continued to support our corporate customers through our international offering as they expand into overseas markets.”