UBS logs surprise 9% rise in Q3 net profit

[ZURICH] UBS posted a 9 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit on Tuesday, as continued trading helped the world's largest wealth manager to its best quarterly profit since 2015.

Its third-quarter net profit of US$2.279 billion far outpaced a median estimate of US$1.596 billion from a poll of 23 analysts compiled by Switzerland's largest bank.

"Our business momentum, our focus on fueling growth, on disciplined execution and on delivering our full ecosystem to clients - all of this led to another strong quarter across all of our business divisions and regions," chief executive Ralph Hamers said in a statement.

In each of the last four quarters, UBS saw double-digit percent gains in net profit as buoyant markets helped it generate higher earnings off of managing money for the rich.

From July through September, favourable market conditions, and higher lending and trading amongst its wealthy clientele, unexpectedly helped raise earnings over the bumper levels reported in the third quarter of last year.

REUTERS