Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reported an operating profit before tax of £1.54bn in the fourth quarter of 2019 that ended 31 December 2019, compared to the operating profit before tax of £572m made during the same quarter in 2018.
In the third quarter of 2019, the retail banking company made an operating loss before tax of £8m after taking a £900m charge due to the Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) scandal.
The bank’s total income in Q4 2019 moved up from £3.05bn in Q4 2018 to £4.23bn. The fourth quarter of 2019 income included £1.17bn of FX recycling gains which were associated largely with the transfer of NatWest Markets ownership to NatWest Markets.
The operating expenses were up from £2.46bn in Q4 2018 to £2.52bn in the reported quarter, which mainly reflects the annual UK bank levy charge, said the bank. RBS revealed that it had reduced its workforce during the fourth quarter by about 1,700, or 2.6%.
The bank stated that the Q4 2019 income was down by £114m or 4% across its retail and commercial businesses after excluding notable items. The decline in income was attributed mainly to margin pressure in a challenging market, said the retail banking company.
RBS FY 2019 results
For the full year 2019, RBS registered an operating profit before tax of £4.23bn and an attributable profit of £3.13bn compared to £3.36bn and £1.62bn, respectively.
The basic fully diluted earnings per share of the banking group for FY 2019 moved up from 13.4p in FY 2018 to 25.9p.
The net interest income for FY 2019 was £8.04bn compared to £8.65bn in FY 2018.
Apart from releasing the financial results, the bank revealed plans to rename its parent company from The Royal Bank of Scotland Group to NatWest Group later this year.
RBS CEO Alison Rose said: “These results are a reminder of the strong foundations we have built. Our profits are up, our capital remains strong and this year we will have returned a further £2.7bn to our shareholders.
“But our performance doesn’t yet match the potential that exists in this bank. We can deliver so much more.
“The way people live their lives has changed. And their expectations of companies are changing too; looking for us to deliver not only financial performance but a positive contribution to society; benefitting customers and communities as well as shareholders.”
