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French bank Societe Generale reported a fourth-quarter profit above the analyst estimates, supported by the surprising jump at profit of the French consumer banking by 25%. Also the lender announced plans for an initial public offering of its business of leasing cars. The total net profit of Societe Generale amounted to 390 million EUR, which is 41% less than the previous year but above the average estimate of 315 million EUR of the economists. The costs include charges for the sale of the Croatian division are heavy on results.

In the last three months of 2016, Societe Generale benefited from lower provisions for bad loans, improved trading conditions and better results from Russia and Africa. The lender said it would raise its dividend by 10% to 2.20 EUR per share.

“The results reflect the good commercial and operational performance of all businesses and firmness in controlling costs and risks”, said the CEO of Societe Generale, Frederic Oudea.

The shares of Societe Generale fell by 6.8% over the past three days, limiting growth in the last 12 months to 42%, which increased the market capitalization of the company to 34.5 billion EUR.

The French lender plans to offer shares of its subsidiary ALD for cars lease this year if market conditions allow, selling a minority stake. ALD, which lease cars to corporations and other clients, has nearly 1.4 million cars and activities in 41 countries, making it the largest in Europe. For ALD, the IPO will open new opportunities to accelerate its development through new channels and partnerships for sales.

The quarterly profits of Societe Generale takes a hit from fee 235 million EUR linked to the sale of Croatia’s Splitska Bank and a reserve for 150 million EUR for unspecified legal risks. The bank has reported fee of 286 million EUR related to the review of deferred tax assets. The return on equity was 7.8% in 2016 to 7% in the previous year.

