Santander Brasil's net profit surges 75% in Q4 (updated)

Banco Santander Brasil SA

05/02/2025 10:34

(Recasts throughout)
       SAO PAULO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Santander Brasil  SANB3.SA 
a subsidiary of Spain's Banco Santander  SAN.MC , reported on
Wednesday a 75% jump in its fourth-quarter net profit,
surpassing market expectations on the back of better spreads and
increased fees.
        The lender said in a securities filing that net profit
totaled 3.85 billion reais ($668.62 million) in the
October-December quarter, above the 3.72 billion forecast by
analysts polled by LSEG.
    "The Q4 earnings reflect the delivery of our strategy,
showing positive revenue performance and consistent growth in
client net interest income (NII)," Chief Executive Mario Leao
said, highlighting the "diversification of our portfolio."
        Santander, typically the first major private lender in
Brazil to publish quarterly results, sets the stage for its
peers, including Itau Unibanco  ITUB4.SA  and Bradesco
 BBDC4.SA .
  
        Latin America's largest country is a key market for the
lender's 
    Spanish parent
    , which earlier on Wednesday announced 10 billion euros
($10.42 billion) in share buybacks after notching record profits
helped by its retail business in Brazil.
  
        Santander Brasil's NII - earnings on loans minus deposit
costs - rose 16% in the fourth quarter to 15.98 billion reais,
while its return on average equity (ROAE), a gauge of
profitability, was up 5.3 percentage points to 17.6%.
  
        "We are ready to move forward with our ROAE evolution
with a disciplined approach to capital allocation," Leao said.
  
        The bank's allowance for loan losses dropped 13.2% on a
yearly basis to 5.93 billion reais, which Leao said was "within
expected levels," while its expanded loan portfolio rose 6.2% to
682.7 billion reais.
  

($1 = 5.7581 reais)
($1 = 0.9600 euros)

 (Reporting by Gabriel Araujo, Editing by Louise Heavens)
 ((Gabriel.Araujo2@thomsonreuters.com; +55 11 5047-3352;))