UniCredit posts record half-year results. Orcel plays it safe: ‘No talks regarding MPS’
Profits stand at 6.1 billion, up 24 per cent (excluding exceptional items), and targets are being raised. The aim is to finalise the Commerz deal by the end of the year, whilst in Italia ‘we are merely observers’. Generali? ‘It’s an investment; we’ll decide later.’
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - A record half-year for UniCredit, with profits of 6.1 billion and a tight deadline to finalise the deal on Commerz (‘by the end of the year’), whilst in Italia ‘we are merely observers’. This is confirmed by Andrea Orcel, who, during a series of interviews immediately following the results announcement, addressed all the hot topics: the stake in Generali? “It’s an investment; we’ll decide later.” He also denies negotiations with Delfin regarding the stake in MPS.
First-half profit hits record high of 6.1 billion, exceeding expectations
Let’s start with the figures: the financial results for the first half of the year show a record net profit of 6.1 billion, up 24 per cent on the previous year when ‘adjusted’ for a number of extraordinary items. In the second quarter alone, however, Orcel’s bank posted a net profit of 2.9 billion (-13.1% compared with the same period in 2025), a figure that rises to 3.1 billion after adjusting for a one-off item linked to ‘trading income relating to Commerzbank’. In any case, the final result is higher than market expectations, with the consensus forecast standing at a net profit of 2.83 billion.
On the revenue front, UniCredit reported a 3.6 per cent increase in core net revenue to 12.2 billion, with total net revenue standing at 13.0 billion (+6 per cent “adjusted”), whilst net interest income fell by 0.8% to 7.2 billion and fee and commission income and net insurance income rose to 5.0 billion (+11%). The bank reported operating costs of 2.3 billion, down 0.7 per cent, a cost-to-income ratio of 34 per cent and a cost of risk of 17 basis points. Finally, on the capital front, the CET1 stood at 14.3% (14.5% excluding Commerz, and 15% if the Danish compromise is included).
Alzati raises 2026 profit target to ‘well above’ 11 billion
UniCredit has also revised its targets upwards. The bank’s ambition now sees net profit for 2026 at a level ‘well above’ 11 billion (previously ‘equal to or greater than’) or at 11.5 billion if integration costs are excluded. The same applies to the long-term outlook, where the bank led by Andrea Orcel estimates net profit for 2028 to rise to ‘well above’ 13 billion and for 2030 to ‘well above’ 15 billion, ‘both prior to the full consolidation of Commerzbank’. Added to this is a cash interim dividend for 2026, forecast at around 2.8 billion.
Orcel plays for time on Risiko: ‘We’re just observers for now’
In a series of interviews, the CEO of Piazza Gae Aulenti then discusses the hot topics. When asked, Orcel distances himself from the banking risk in Italia: ‘For the time being, as we have said on more than one occasion, we are observers’. Meanwhile, the stake in Generali is “still a financial investment; we are monitoring the situation because the market is shifting, and we will make our decisions accordingly”.
