UBS has revealed an ever-so-slight yearly increase in its pre-tax profit for the fourth quarter of 2018 today. However, even though the multinational firm still managed to report a jump in profits, it still fell short of analyst estimates.
This shortfall was largely thanks to its wealth management division, which noted $8 billion in outflows during the fourth quarter. The company’s investment bank, which managed to buoy UBS during the second and, also saw weaker earnings during the period.
Source: UBS
Specifically, during Q4 of 2018, UBS reported a profit before tax of $862 million, which represents a 2 per cent increase when measured against the prior year period. Adjusted profit before tax for the fourth quarter was $860 million.
Taking a look at UBS’ , adjusted profit before tax was $26 million in Q4, an 84 per cent increase year-on-year. From the unit, foreign exchange (forex), rates and credit increased by 14 per cent on a yearly basis. According to the statement, forex results offset more subdued credit revenues.
UBS full-year results paint a brighter picture
For the full year of 2018, the results look a lot more optimistic. Profit before tax was $6.4 billion on an adjusted basis in 2018, which also represents an increase of 2 per cent year-on-year.
Group profit before tax was also up by 19% for 2018 when measured against the prior year. This was driven by higher operating income and lower operating expenses. More notably, net profit for the whole of 2018 was $4.9 billion. This is an increase of 25 per cent when compared with 2017.
For the full year, the achieved an adjusted profit before tax of $1.8 billion. This translates to a growth of 20 per cent year-on-year.
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