Deutsche Bank posts annual profit

Frankfurt: Germany´s biggest lender Deutsche Bank reported on Friday a 2018 bottom line in the black for the first time in four years, with a cost-cutting drive delivering results even as revenues fell.The firm reported 267 million euros ($305 million) net profit, compared with a loss of 751 million in 2017. The result was short of expectations of 505 million euros from analysts surveyed by Factset.

Pre-tax profits at the financial firm were up eight percent year-on-year, at 1.3 billion euros.

But revenues fell four percent, to 25.3 billion euros, with Deutsche blaming a fourth quarter marked by "challenging financial markets" and "negative" headlines, including a November raid by prosecutors on the bank´s Frankfurt headquarters. Between October and December, the firm reported a net loss of 425 million euros.