STOCKHOLM, April 22 (Reuters) - Sweden's Handelsbanken reported first-quarter net profit above market expectations on Wednesday and said net inflow to the banks funds was good during the quarter. The
Handelsbanken net profit tops forecast as costs and interest income beat
Handelsbanken Q1 Financial Results Overview
STOCKHOLM, April 22 (Reuters) - Sweden's Handelsbanken reported first-quarter net profit above market expectations on Wednesday and said net inflow to the bank's funds was good during the quarter.
Net Profit Performance
The bank, a rival of Swedbank, SEB and Nordea, said net profit edged up to 6.36 billion Swedish crowns ($693 million) from 6.32 billion a year earlier, against a mean analyst forecast of 5.69 billion crowns in LSEG estimates.
Comparison with Analyst Forecasts
The bank, whose main markets are Sweden, Norway and Britain, said its net interest income, which includes revenues from mortgages, fell to 10.02 billion crowns from 11.51 billion crowns a year earlier, but was above the 9.96 billion crowns expected by analysts.
Cost Efficiency and Operational Focus
"The greater focus on efficiency in recent years has reduced the running cost base at the bank, offsetting both general inflation and the annual salary adjustments that come into effect at the start of every year," the bank said in the report.
Quarterly Cost Breakdown
Handelsbanken, the oldest company on the Swedish stock exchange, said costs in the quarter amounted to 5.84 billion crowns, down from 6.16 billion last year and lower than the 6.01 billion seen by analysts.
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander, editing by Essi Lehto)
