Commerzbank posts $99m profit in 3q

Commerzbank, Germany’s second-biggest bank, said on Thursday it returned to profit in the third quarter of this year, but the result fell short of analysts’ expectations. Commerzbank said in a statement it booked a net profit of 78 million euros ($99 million) in the period from July to September, compared with a loss of 687 million euros 12 months ago. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had been forecasting a bigger net profit of around 141 million euros. Already late on Wednesday, Commerzbank had said it was unlikely to pay a dividend for either 2012 or 2013 given the difficult market environment. The loss for the third quarter of 2011 had largely been due to writedowns on the bank’s holdings of Greek sovereign bonds. Nevertheless, the market environment “will remain volatile in the coming months,” said chief executive Martin Blessing. “We are, therefore, continuing with our strict cost management, consistently reducing non-strategic portfolios further and strengthening our profitability,” he said.