AFP, Zurich :
Swiss banking giant UBS said Tuesday its full-year profits fell last year, but that economic stimulus measures and easier monetary conditions “contributed to a strong performance in financial markets in the fourth quarter and are likely to prevail.”
“UBS delivered solid full-year 2019 results in mixed market conditions,” with net profit falling five percent to $4.3 billion (3.8 billion euros), the group said in a statement.
Pre-tax profit, adjusted for restructuring costs, slipped by 0.5 percent to $6.04 billion, but earnings before tax in the global wealth management division jumped by four percent to $3.4 billion.
In the fourth quarter alone, adjusted pre-tax profit soared by 153 percent to $1.2 billion, driven mainly by the wealth management and investment banking activities, UBS said.
“We finished a solid year with our best fourth-quarter adjusted profit before tax since 2010,” said chief executive Sergio Ermotti.
In light of the fourth-quarter performance, UBS said it would pay shareholders an increased dividend of $0.73 per share for 2019 compared with $0.70 for 2018.
Separately, UBS announced it planned to sell a majority 51-percent stake in UBS Fondcenter, part of its asset management business, to Clearstream, a subsidiary of German stock exchange operator Deutsche Boerse.
