KBC Posts 557 Million Euro Q1 Profit Miss as Iran-War Provisions Rise

3 articles · Updated · Reuters · May 12

KBC reported first-quarter net profit of 557 million euros, missing the 578 million euro analyst consensus despite an 18% rise in net interest income.
A 75 million euro increase in reserves for geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty helped push total loan-loss impairment charges to 165 million euros, up by more than 100 million euros from a year earlier.
The Belgian lender said the Iran war, the continuing conflict in Ukraine, fallout from U.S. tariffs and tensions between Donald Trump and Europe had darkened growth and inflation assumptions.
KBC kept its guidance unchanged, a stance RBC said dulled the impact of stronger net interest income, and the shares opened 3% lower in Brussels versus a 2.2% drop in the European banking index.

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