MADRID, April 29 (Reuters) - Spain's BBVA on Tuesday said its first-quarter net profit rose 23% from the same period in 2024 thanks to a solid performance in Spain, where it wants to buy smaller rival Sabadell to reduce its reliance on Mexico, its main market.
The fifth-biggest lender in the euro zone by market value booked a net profit of 2.7 billion euros ($3.07 billion) in the to January to March, above the 2.42 billion euros expected by analysts polled by Reuters.
In an attempt to strengthen its position at home, BBVA announced in May a hostile takeover bid worth then more than 12 billion euros for Sabadell.
Spain's competition watchdog CNMC is set to approve BBVA's proposed acquisition Sabadell as early as this week.
Net profit in Spain rose 43.8% year-on-year in the quarter underpinned by a solid macroeconomic growth and lower impact from the renewed banking tax, while net profit in Mexico fell 7.6% in current euros.
($1 = 0.8784 euros)
Reporting by Jesús Aguado, editing by Inti Landauro
Source: Reuters