UBS Q4 Profit More Than Doubles - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Swiss banking giant UBS Group AG (UBS) reported Tuesday that its fourth-quarter net profit attributable to shareholders climbed 129 percent to $722 million from last year's $315 million. Earnings per share were $0.19, up 135 percent from $0.08 a year ago.

Operating profit before tax was $928 million, higher than last year's $481 million. UBS's fourth-quarter adjusted profit before tax was $1.21 billion, up 153 percent from last year. Operating income for the quarter grew to $7.05 billion from $6.97 billion in the previous year.

For 2019, the Board of Directors intends to propose a dividend to UBS Group AG shareholders of $0.73 per share, an increase on the prior year.

For the first half of 2020, UBS intends to repurchase around $450 million of shares.

Further, the company said it intends to increase its dividend per share by percent0.01 per year and return incremental capital through share repurchases.