Story
Unicaja Lifts 2026 Profit Forecast After Q2 Earnings Beat
Summary
The Spanish lender reported second-quarter net income of €201 million, surpassing analyst estimates, and subsequently upgraded its full-year guidance for net profit growth and cost of risk.
Unicaja Banco, S.A. (UNI) on Friday reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and raised its full-year profit guidance for 2026. The Spanish bank posted a net income of €201 million, beating the analyst consensus of €183 million by 10%.
Second-Quarter Performance
The earnings beat was primarily driven by lower-than-anticipated impairment charges and solid revenue performance. According to the bank's report, revenues for the quarter surpassed forecasts by 2%, while pre-tax profit came in 9% above consensus estimates.
Key financial highlights for the second quarter of 2026 include:
- Net Income: €201 million, compared to a €183 million consensus.
- Total Impairment Charges: €41 million, significantly below the expected €55 million.
- Customer Loans: Grew 5% quarter-over-quarter, exceeding consensus by 3%.
- Fully Loaded CET1 Ratio: A key measure of capital strength, stood at 15.8%, beating estimates by 10 basis points.
A Closer Look at Core Operations
AdWhile the headline numbers were strong, the bank's core income streams showed mixed results. Net interest income (NII) was in line with expectations, rising 2% year-over-year. However, the bank noted that customer spreads narrowed by 2 basis points as deposit costs rose slightly faster than loan yields, a trend attributed to recent European Central Bank rate increases.
Net fee income fell 2% short of analyst expectations, as lagging banking fees offset healthy performance in asset management and insurance. On the balance sheet, corporate loan growth was robust at 7% year-over-year, while customer deposits declined 1% from the previous quarter.
Upgraded Full-Year Outlook
Following the strong quarterly performance, Unicaja upgraded its financial targets for the full year. The bank now expects net profit to grow by a mid-single-digit percentage, an improvement from its previous guidance of simply being "higher than 2025 levels."
The company also improved its outlook for credit quality, forecasting a cost of risk between 20-25 basis points, down from its prior estimate of below 30 basis points. Guidance for net interest income growth was also lifted to a low-to-mid single-digit increase. Unicaja confirmed it will maintain its 95% dividend payout policy.
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