Italy's Banca Generali lifts NII target after Q3 profit beat

(Reuters) - Italian asset manager Banca Generali raised its annual net interest income (NII) forecast on Monday after its third-quarter profit jumped nearly 35%, excluding one-off expenses.

The group, controlled by Italy's top insurer Generali, sees NII of around 300 million euros ($320 million) in 2023, up from a previous guidance of 250-280 million, CEO Gian Maria Mossa said in a post-earnings call with analysts.

The bank reported a net profit of 80.1 million euros in the three months through September, beating a company-provided consensus estimate of 78.9 million, driven by a strong increase in NII and higher net recurring fees.

Quarterly NII came in at 76.6 million euros, up from 36 million in the same period last year, while recurring fees rose by 2.1% to 114.4 million euros over the same period.

The group also said it would set aside 26.6 million euros as non-distributable reserves in lieu of paying the windfall tax on net interest income introduced by the Italian government.

($1 = 0.9372 euros)

(Reporting by Federica Urso; editing by Milla Nissi)