Santander expects dividends and buybacks of over 6 billion euros after a strong 2024 start

Santander announced on Friday that it was on pace to fulfil this year's goals and that it projected to pay out over 6 billion euros in dividends and share buybacks in comparison to 2024 performance.

At the bank's annual meeting on Friday, Ana Botin, the executive chair of the lender, is scheduled to inform shareholders that the bank anticipates achieving a 16% return on tangible equity (ROTE), a profitability metric, in the first quarter. This figure will take into account the impact of the Spanish banking tax.

"2024 has started with remarkable business and commercial dynamism. We anticipate seeing an increase in revenue in the first quarter of around 9% year-over-year (in current euros) due to our continued growth in the number of consumers we service, according to a statement from Botin.

A "considerably better performance" from the bank in 2024 compared to 2023 was something Botin stated she was "very confident" about.

In light of its exceptional 2023 performance, shareholders are anticipated to accept a total compensation package of 5.5 billion euros.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)