Société Générale (SG) has more than doubled its income in the third quarter compared to Q3 2008. The bank’s export finance and natural resources business lines are also displaying strong growth.
The bank has reported a net income of €426mn for Q3, increasing from €183mn posted in the third quarter 2008.
In a statement, the French bank believed the strong performance is due to the “normalisation of market conditions” that has been under way since the beginning of 2009.
The bank cites the various stimulus plans implemented by governments, the central bank and the IMF, as well as the gradual pick-up in international trade and the “refunctioning of channels for the financing of the real economy” as factors that have supported signs of economic recovery in the most developed countries.
However, it does state that this growth is “fragile” as other economic indicators such as high unemployment, massive surplus production and household debt reduction continue to stall recovery.
The bank’s corporate and investment banking division, which includes export finance and natural resource financing, recorded strong results, with net banking income hitting €1,767mn for the third quarter, an increase of 18.8% compared to Q3 2008. However, SG CIB did record €-1,099mn of non-recurring items during Q3.
SG CIB’s financing and advisory division saw Q3 revenues of €522mn, an increase of 73.4% compared to Q3 2008.
This strong performance was put down to revenues from structured financing, whereas capital market activities had seen a “seasonal decline”.
Natural resources and infrastructure both performed well with revenue increases of 22.1% and 24.1%, while export finance revenues increased by 2.6 times compared to last year’s third quarter.
The business line has been involved in some significant projects this year, helping boost revenues, including the refinancing of €4.1bn Dolphin gas project in the Gulf, the pipeline connecting Qatar to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The bank has also supported a €1.8bn export finance deal in support of Brazil’s purchase of 50 helicopters from Eurocopter.
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