FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Commerzbank (DE:CBKG) on Wednesday posted a 54 percent drop in net profit in the first quarter, just weeks after merger talks with rival Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) fell apart. It attributed the decline to a higher tax burden.
Net profit of 120 million euros (103 million pounds) was slightly above the 115 million euros expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. It fell from 262 million euros a year earlier.
Revenues also declined to 2.156 billion euros in the first quarter, from 2.217 billion a year earlier. But the bank forecast that underlying revenues would be higher in 2019 than in 2018.
Talks with Deutsche Bank were discontinued last month after six weeks of negotiations. The banks attributed the failure to the risks of doing a deal, restructuring costs and capital demands.
The failure of talks has raised questions about Commerzbank's future, with some foreign banks expressing interest in taking it over.
"We are addressing the right issues with our strategy," Chief Executive Officer Martin Zielke said in a statement on Wednesday.
Chief Financial Officer Stephan Engels said business remains on a positive track. "The challenge now is to build on this progress," he said.