Switzerland’s largest bank posted a better-than-expected profit in the fourth quarter. The bank will also increase its dividend this year and buy back more shares.
UBS posted a net profit attributable to shareholders in the fourth quarter of $1.653 billion, and $7.630 billion for the year as a whole, according to figures released Tuesday. The fourth quarter result is better than expected, and the annual result improves on the bank’s $7.457 billion net profit in 2021.
Total revenues in the fourth quarter were $8.089 billion while operating expenses fell to $6.085 billion, down 13 percent from a year ago. UBS said that the fourth quarter of last year included $740 million in litigation provisions for a cross-border legal case with France.
Excluding the provisions, operating expenses would have decreased by three percent and pre-tax profit would have declined 22 percent, according to UBS.
The Global Wealth Management (GWM) unit booked a pre-tax profit of $1.058 billion in the fourth quarter, which was marginally better than expected. Compared to the year-ago result of $563 million, it marked an 88 percent increase. For 2022, the net profit for the unit fell to $4.601 billion, a decline of five percent.
GWM attracted $23.3 billion in new fee-generating assets for the quarter, bringing the total new money for the year to $60.1 billion, according to UBS.
CEO Ralph Hamers said, «we could achieve this in a year marked by difficult macroeconomic conditions, persistent inflation, rapid monetary tightening, the war between Russia and Ukraine, the impact of the Corona pandemic in China, and other geopolitical tensions.»
The Asset Management division reported a pre-tax profit of $124 million for the fourth quarter a decline of 63 percent.
Hamers also said that UBS is starting 2023 from a position of strength despite uncertain macroeconomic conditions.
After buying back $5.6 billion of shares last year, Hamers said UBS plans to buy back more than $5 billion this year as well. Furthermore, the bank will continue to pursue a progressive dividend payment policy. For 2023, UBS intends to propose a dividend of $0.55.
UBS will continue to pursue growth opportunities in the United States, Hamers said. In the Americas region, the GWM unit attracted $17 billion in fee-generating money and closed the quarter with strong advisor recruiting efforts.
UBS said that it continues to see «positive momentum» in private markets in the region, attracting $10 billion of new commitments. Its separately managed accounts (SMA) product contributed $21 billion of new money in the Americas.
