Societe Generale, France's second biggest bank by market value, reported a 33 percent increase Thursday in second-quarter net profit, boosted by investment banking activities and gains from the sale of its Euronext stake, AP reported. SocGen said net profit for the quarter soared to ¤1.74 billion (US$2.38 billion) from ¤1.31 billion a year earlier. Excluding the ¤235 million (US$321.1 million) gain from Euronext, recently taken over by the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, net profit increased 14.5 percent to ¤1.5 billion (US$2.05 billion), above analyst expectations. The results beat those of BNP Paribas SA, France's largest bank by market value, which on Wednesday had reported a 20 percent jump in second-quarter net profit. Like BNP, SocGen said it has low exposure to the credit crisis linked to subprime mortgages risks in the U.S., where it has no retail banking activity///./// Revenue rose 16 percent to ¤6.62 billion (US$9.04 billion) from ¤5.71 billion a year earlier. «The second quarter was marked by a very favorable economic climate, notably in emerging countries but also in Europe,» SocGen said in a statement. Corporate and investment bank activities _ SocGen's biggest earner _ posted a 22 percent increase in second-quarter profit to ¤721 million (US$985.1 million) from ¤589 million, led by equity derivatives and advisory services. The international retail bank saw net profit rise 55.6 percent to ¤168 million (US$229.5 million) as the French bank expanded in central and eastern Europe, North Africa and Russia. SocGen said it opened 416 branches in the past year.
