Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen Girozentrale, known as Helaba, reported first-quarter consolidated net profit under International Financial Reporting Standards of €52 million, up 10.6% from €47 million in the same period in 2017.
The Sparkassen- und Giroverband Hessen-Thüringen unit's pretax profit for the quarter amounted to €79 million, up 5.3% from €75 million a year earlier.
"The figures back up our forecast for 2018, whereby we anticipate a stable performance for the year as a whole," managing board Chairman Herbert Hans Grüntker said.
Net interest income for the period declined on a yearly basis to €256 million from €275 million due to the "ongoing phase of zero and negative rates." The German bank booked provisions for losses on loans and advances of €3 million, compared to a reversal of €5 million a year earlier.
Net fee and commission income decreased year over year to €86 million from €91 million, while net trading income also dropped 43.1% to €41 million from €72 million. The net income from hedge accounting and non-trading financial instruments at fair value amounted to €11 million, compared to a loss of €68 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Helaba recorded a return on equity of 4.0%. The group said it is targeting ROE of between 5.0% and 7.0% in 2018.
Helaba's phased-in and fully loaded common equity Tier 1 ratios both stood at 15.7% at the end of March, compared to 15.4% and 15.2%, respectively, at 2017-end.
