Commerzbank: Profits almost triple to €280m

Germany's second biggest banking group Commerzbank said Monday its second quarter profits had almost tripled, pushed up by higher revenue and a lower tax bill.

From April to June the bank made a net profit of 280 million euros ($307 million), it said, against 100 million in the first quarter.

The results are better than analysts predicted, with Factset saying the bank's net profits were likely to come in around 267 million euros.

Frankfurt-based Commerzbank said its gross profits more than doubled to 646 million euros, with a 15.5 percent rise in turnover to 5.2 billion euros.

"The substantial improvement in our operating income in the first quarter is a clear sign of the turnaround success of Commerzbank," said the bank's chairman Martin Blessing in a statement.