Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale, known as Helaba, reported first-quarter consolidated IFRS net profit of €42 million, down from €52 million in the same period in 2018.

The German lender's pretax profit for the quarter was €64 million, down from €79 million a year earlier.

Net interest income for the period rose on a yearly basis to €269 million from €256 million. Net fee and commission income also increased year over year, to €89 million from €86 million. The bank booked gains on fair value measurement of €45 million, down from €52 million in the year-ago period.

Provisions for losses on loans and advances widened year over year to €12 million from €3 million. General and administrative expenses reached €411 million, up from €387 million a year earlier.

Return on equity before tax was 3.0%, down from 4.0% in the first quarter of 2018. The group said it is targeting ROE of between 5.0% and 7.0% in 2019.

Helaba's phased-in and fully loaded common equity Tier 1 ratios both stood at 14.6% at the end of March, compared to 14.9% at the end of 2018. The phased-in leverage ratio was 4.6% at the end of March, compared to 5.1% at the end of December 2018.