BMW, Erste Net Soar; Commerzbank Swing to Loss, L

Sarla Buch
04 Nov, 2016
New York City

BMW net surged 15% after strong sales in the quarter. Commerzbank net swung to a loss. Erste Group Bank profit soared 54% to

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – BMW net surged 15% after strong sales in the quarter. Commerzbank net swung to a loss. Erste Group Bank profit soared 54% to €1.8 billion. L''Oreal sales jumped 5%. Paddy Power Betfair lifted profit forecast. Ubisoft net loss narrowed but lowered sales forecast.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index dropped 94.54 or 1.4% to 6,695.31 and in Frankfurt the DAX index decreased 59.19 or 0.6% to 10,267.38.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slumped 40.88 or 0.9% to 4,371.05.

For the week, FTSE 100 index plunged 4.3%, the DAX index plummeted 4% and the CAC 40 index declined 3.9%.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG fell 0.9% to €74.51 after Germany-based automaker said revenues in the third-quarter ending in September jumped 4.5% from a year ago to €23.4 billion.

Net profit in the quarter surged 15.2% from a year ago to €1.8 billion compared to the €1.6 billion and diluted earnings per share increased to €2.75 from €2.39.

Commerzbank AG dropped 1.9% to €74.51 after Germany-based financial services provider reported revenues in the third-quarter ending in September advanced 5.2% from a year ago to €2.4 billion.

Net in the quarter swung to a loss from a year ago to €288 million compared to profit of €235 million and diluted loss per share swung to €0.23 from diluted earnings per share of €0.19.

In September, the lender reported goodwill write-off of about €700 million in the third-quarter and total restructuring costs of about €1.1 billion.

Erste Group Bank AG plunged 7.7% to €25.98 after Austria-based banking and financial services provider said revenues in the nine-month ending in September fell 1.5% from a year ago to €3.27 billion.

Net profit in the quarter soared 54.4% from a year ago to €1.8 billion compared to the €764.2 million and diluted earnings per share increased to €2.73 from €1.79.

The bank said customer deposits in the period jumped 4.7% to €134 billion and volume of non-performing loans dropped to 5.5% from 7.1% and loan portfolio grew 3.3% most significantly in the Czech Republic and in Austria.

Erste Group forecasted return on tangible equity of above 10% in 2017.

L''Oreal SA advanced 2% to €164.90 after France-based cosmetics and consumer products maker reported revenues in the nine-month ending in September soared 4.9% from a year ago to €19.05 billion.

The cosmetics and beauty products maker said sales in the Latin America, Eastern Europe and Africa, Middle East jumped by 12.1%, 9.8% and 9.7% respectively.

Paddy Power Betfair Plc, formerly Paddy Power Plc rose 0.5% to 8,580 pence after Ireland-based online betting and gaming services provider said revenues in the third-quarter ending in September soared 25% from a year ago to £404 million and operating profit surged 68% to £95 million.

The betting and gaming services provider lifted operating profit forecast in the full-year in the range of £390 million to £405 million from earlier estimated range of £365 million and£385 million.

Tullett Prebon Plc jumped 3.1% to 379.10 pence after the U.K.-based investment bank and broker stated revenues in the third-quarter ending in September advanced 15% from a year ago to £216 million and operating profit surged 68% to £95 million.

Tullett quarterly revenue growth was mainly due to the decline in the U.K. pound favorably impacting 60% of its income and also benefited from uncertain political volatility and speculation for the further interest rate hikes.

However, the broker said we are working with ICAP Plc to secure the regulatory approvals to complete the transaction.

""This has been a satisfactory quarter, our diversification and cost control is proving effective,"" chief executive officer John Phizackerley said.

Ubisoft Entertainment SA surged 8.1% to €31.39 after France-based video game publisher said sales in the first-half ending in September soared 35.7% from a year ago to €281.4 million.

Net loss in the period narrowed from a year ago to €66.1 million compared to the €75.2 million and diluted loss per share fell to €0.56 from €0.65.

Ubisoft reaffirmed third-quarter sales of around €560 million.

However, the video game publisher lifted operating profit in the year between €230 million and €250 million compared to the previous estimate of €230 million but lowered sales forecast to between €1.61 billion and €1.67 billion from €1.70 billion.