UBS Group Q3 Profit Climbs, Net Interest Income Down - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG (UBS) reported Friday that its third-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders climbed 14% to 946 million Swiss francs from last year's 827 million francs. Earnings per share grew to 0.25 fran from 0.22 franc last year.

Reported profit before tax increased 39% from last year to 1.22 billion francs and adjusted profit before tax grew 16% to 1.51 billion francs.

Global wealth management adjusted profit before tax rose 4% year-over-year to 1.04 billion francs, with growth in all revenue lines.

Operating income for the quarter was 7.15 billion francs, higher than 7.03 billion francs a year ago.

Net interest income, meanwhile, declined 2 percent to 1.74 billion francs.

Sergio Ermotti, Group Chief Executive Officer, said, "We again saw good results across our business divisions with Asia Pacific as an important driver of profitable growth. We remain focused on disciplined execution and creating long-term value for our shareholders."

Looking ahead, the company said it expects the global economic recovery to strengthen further, but geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty still pose risks to client sentiment. In particular, high asset prices, uncertainty over central bank balance sheet and interest rate policies, seasonality factors and the persistence of low volatility may continue to affect overall client activity.

The company added that low and negative interest rates, particularly in Switzerland and the eurozone, put pressure on net interest margins.