The Spanish bank said net profit was 1.46 billion euros ($1.65 billion) in the October-December period - the first quarter under new boss Ana Botin, who has shaken up the lender with management changes and recently bolstered capital through a cash call.
That was slightly below forecasts for a 1.47-billion-euro quarterly profit.
Like local peers reporting results in the past week, Santander revised 2013 earnings downwards to reflect payments to deposit guarantee funds. Without that restatement, fourth quarter net profit would have risen just 37 percent.