MILAN: UniCredit on Wednesday raised its financial targets for the year, after posting much stronger than expected first quarter earnings. Solid results by Italy’s only bank that regulators deem of global systemic relevance are the latest evidence of strength for a sector where a string of failures this year has shaken investors’ confidence.

UniCredit forecast a 2023 profit above 6.5 billion euros ($7.2 billion), improving the guidance it had given in February about broadly matching its 2022 result of 5.2 billion euros.

Net profit in the first three months came in at 2.06 billion euros, above an average analyst forecast of 1.3 billion euros, boosted by a bigger than expected 18% yearly jump in revenues.

UniCredit, which under CEO Andrea Orcel has embarked on one of Europe’s most ambitious capital distribution plans, said it would return 5.75 billion euros or more to shareholders through dividends and buybacks over 2023 results.

Core capital unexpectedly strengthened in the quarter to 16.05% of risk-weighted assets (RWAs), with a 9 billion euro quarterly reduction in RWAs helping to offset the use of capital to buy back the bank’s own shares to lift returns for investors.

UniCredit to repay AT1 bond, says no need to issue more near term

With the euro zone’s official interest rates at a 15-year high, UniCredit said it expected to pocket more than 12.6 billion euros in 2023 from the gap between rates charged to borrowers and those paid to raise money.

Net interest income in the quarter topped analyst expectations rising 43.6% year-on-year to 3.3 billion euros, but net fees unexpectedly strengthened 10.7% from the previous quarter surpassing forecasts at 2.0 billion euros.