Spanish banking giant Santander posted a 5.7 per cent rise in net profit today to beat market expectations as its results were boosted by last year's acquisition of British mortgage lender Abbey.
The bank's acquisitive reputation was sealed on Monday with the purchase of a $2.4 billion stake in US bank Sovereign Bancorp just a year after buying Abbey.
The British unit contributed €492 million to profit in the nine-month period. Santander reported net profit of €3.88 billion, up from €3.67 billion in the nine-month period last year.
Santander said net interest income, or its earnings on basic lending and borrowing, rose to €7.76 billion.
It said it aimed to grow Abbey's revenue by 5 to 10 per cent annually over the next three years. Cost savings from last year's £8 billion purchase were on track to reach its targeted £300 million by the end of 2007, with the bank expecting to have completed £200 million of that by the end of 2005.
Santander said it expected more savings from Abbey in 2008, but it held back from raising targets. Analysts had forecast it could raise its savings goal to at least £400 million by 2007.
Santander is buying a 19.8 per cent stake in Sovereign but stressed the investment was a financial stake, akin to its purchase in the 1990s of a participation in First Fidelity Bancorp. However, Santander has an option to buy the entire bank from July 2008.