Deutsche Bank's 1Q profit hits euro1.8 bln ($2.4 bln)By: The Associated Press | 27 Apr 2010 | 02:08 AM ET Text Size BERLIN - Deutsche Bank AG earned euro1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) in the first quarter of the year, a gain over last year amid improving results from the selling of debt and equities, the bank said Tuesday.
That compared with a net profit of euro1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2009.
The bank, based in Frankfurt and Germany's biggest lender, said its net revenues rose 24 percent to euro9 billion in the January-March period compared with euro7.2 billion in 2009.
Despite the gain, the bank said the 2010 result reflected euro241 million in write-downs, but added that the year-ago figure also included write-downs of euro1 billion along with a charge of euro500 million.
Still, Deutsche Bank said record pretax profit at its corporate and investment bank unit along with improved revenues from selling and trading debt and equities, lifted its first-quarter results higher.
"The economic environment clearly stabilized in the first quarter 2010, but is not without some remaining vulnerability," Chief Executive Josef Ackermann said in a statement.
"The key component for achieving the very good result in the first quarter 2010 was our global investment banking franchise," he said, noting that the company's corporate and investment bank generated a pretax profit of euro2.7 billion, a record quarterly result.
"This is all the more remarkable as it was achieved despite the fact that the bank has significantly reduced its risk positions and cut its proprietary trading activities to a very low level," said Ackermann, who was paid nearly euro9.6 million in salary and bonuses for his work last year.
Deutsche Bank's results, which were released before markets opened in Germany, included the acquisition of private bank Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie S.C.A. Group for the first time.
Deutsche Bank bought it last year in a euro1 billion deal.