UBS beats analyst expectations

Zurich: Swiss banking giant UBS said on Thursday that revenue and profits both slid in the first quarter when a chill ran through the global economy and markets, but its performance beat analyst expectations.Net profits slid 27 percent from the same quarter last year to $1.1 billion (1 billion euros), with the bank benefitting from some exceptional items that boosted performance last year.

Revenues contracted by 12 percent to $7.2 billion. Both numbers beat the consensus of analysts surveyed by the Swiss financial news agency AWP, which was a net profit of $873 million on revenues of $6.9 billion.

"The first quarter of 2019 was characterised by challenging market conditions," acknowledged chief executive Sergio Ermotti in a statement, before adding that market conditions improved at the end of the quarter and into April.

Pre-tax profits at the investment banking unit tumbled by 64 percent to $207 million due to less revenue from advising clients on mergers and acquisitions as well as from equities.

Less trading by clients of its wealth management unit led to a fall of commissions, with pre-tax profit sliding 22 percent.