Natixis today reported its results for the first quarter of 2018. Natixis recorded net revenues of €2.412 billion this quarter, a rise of 7% at constant exchange rates, i.e. stripping out the effects of currency fluctuations to give a clearer picture of our real business performances. Including foreign exchange variations, which are an external factor to our business performances, our net revenues rose 3% at current exchange rates, while net income surged 15% to €323 million.

Net revenues generated by our business lines rose 8% at constant exchange rates to €2.281 billion on the back of sound performances from Asset & Wealth Management, where net revenues soared 20%, as well as Insurance, gaining 8%, Specialised Financial Services, rising 5%, and Corporate & Investment Banking, up 1%. We kept our risks and expenses well under control over the quarter, with profitability for our main business lines surging as we reported a 190bps gain in ROE to 16.9%.

Groupe BPCE also notched up positive performances over the first quarter of the year, with pre-tax profit rising 3.2% to €1.7 billion, excluding exceptional items and restated for the impact of IFRIC 21, while net income group share edged up 0.9% compared with the same period last year to come out at €955 million. Despite an adverse interest-rate environment, the Retail Banking and Insurance businesses remained sturdy, with a strong contribution from Insurance and Payments. Overall, the group continues to display robust solvency ratios.

Net revenues for Asset & Wealth Management rose 20% at constant exchange rates to €777 million in 1Q 2018, or a 10% jump at current exchange rates factoring the effects of the dollar’s depreciation. ROE for the division improved by 250bps to 14%.

Assets under management (AuM) stood at €818 billion at March 31 as a result of overall net inflows of €6 billion over the quarter, with quality long-term net inflows driven by high-fee strategies and a particularly active contribution from our US and European affiliates Harris, Loomis Sayles, H2O, Dorval and DNCA.

Natixis Wealth Management also put in impressive showings, with net revenues climbing 12% as the business continued its transformation and focused on its core wealth management clients.

Corporate & Investment Banking held up particularly well this quarter and figures were especially remarkable given the tougher market environment, reflecting our ability to create and maintain value in the long term. Net revenues gained 1% at constant exchange rates to €938 million, or a dip of 3% if we factor in currency fluctuations, and ROE improved 150bps to 17.2%.

Our Global Markets businesses withstood market conditions better than most our European competitors, despite a demanding comparison with a very strong 1Q 2017 and lower client activity due to renewed volatility in Europe. Net revenues for Global Finance climbed 16%, and figures for Investment Banking and M&A gained 6%. Meanwhile, our Americas and Asia-Pacific platforms also made a strong contribution to the division’s revenue growth, posting a 7% jump in their net revenues.

In our Insurance business, both Life insurance & personal protection and Property & casualty continued to gather momentum, with an 8% rise in net revenues to €204 million in 1Q 2018. ROE soared 560bps compared to the same quarter last year, coming in at an exceptionally strong 33.1%. AuM in the Life insurance business stood at €57 billion at March 31, including €13.3 billion in unit-linked products, while turnover for the P&C business jumped 9% to close to €400 million over the quarter.

Our Specialised Financial Services division also turned in strong showings, with net revenues gaining 5% to €362 million over the quarter, and good business performances for Consumer financing, Leasing, Factoring and Employee Savings. The Payments business also made significant gains with net revenues up 15%, driven by acquisitions made in 2017 which accounted for two thirds of the rise, as well as by the dynamism of our traditional businesses.

Press release
Source: Natixis and Natixis Investment Managers

Natixis Investment Managers
RCS Paris 453 952 681
Share Capital: €178 251 690
43 avenue Pierre Mendès France, 75013 Paris
www.im.natixis.com

This communication is for information only and is intended for investment service providers or other Professional Clients. The analyses and opinions referenced herein represent the subjective views of the author as referenced unless stated otherwise and are subject to change. There can be no assurance that developments will transpire as may be forecasted in this material