Shares of Italy's UniCredit jump 10% and hit eight-year high on earnings beat

Shares of Italian bank UniCredit hit their highest level since 2015 on Monday, after announcing it would return 8.6 billion euros ($9.2 billion) to investors on the back of higher-than-expected profit.

The Milan-based lender shared details of the planned payout after reporting fourth-quarter profit of 1.9 billion euros, almost three times analysts’ expectations.

Shares of the stock were up 10% by 11 a.m. London time.

The payout, which will be delivered through a combination of buybacks and dividends, follows a strong year for the bank, which has been buoyed by higher interest rates.

UniCredit added that it would adopt a 90% payout policy from this year. The company’s “stated” net income in the October-December period came in at 2.8 billion euros, more than double a 1.2 billion euro average analyst consensus forecast provided by the bank.

Revenue also surpassed expectations, while UniCredit booked lower-than-forecast costs and provisions against loan losses.

Italy’s second-largest lender has tripled its value since Chief Executive Andrea Orcel took the reins in 2021, leading gains among European banks.