Profit before tax at Danske Capital was up 22% to DKK300m (€40.1m) and total income up 15% to DKK200m in the first quarter of 2015. Net sales hit DKK11bn, some 40% of which was accounted for by clients outside Denmark. Assets under management (AUM) stood at DKK813bn, according to the bank.

Danske Bank launched 12 products across the Nordic region in the first quarter with overall sales of structured products amounting to €171.3m, according to SRP data. In Denmark the bank launched two notes that collected together DKK608m; and in Finland it marketed five notes which sold €14m. In Sweden, the biggest market in the region, Danske Bank marketed five notes worth SEK79.69m. The DB DAXK Sprinter 2018 is the best-selling product of the whole Nordic region, collecting DKK503.2m.

The increase in profit compared with the same period in 2014 was attributed to an increase to DKK813bn in AUM, which rose DKK18bn from the end of last year. Compared with the final quarter of 2014, total income excluding performance fees was up 3% to DKK600m – performance fees fell from DKK288m to DKK14m due to the fact that performance fee agreements with clients are normally measured at year end. Performance fees in the first quarter of DKK14m relate to clients’ quarterly payments. Net sales of DKK11bn in the first quarter of this year included net sales to retail clients of DKK5bn, with DKK6bn from institutional clients. Because of lower marketing costs, expenses fell 4% from the year end.

AUM amounted to DKK813bn and was up by DKK65bn (€8.7bn) from the first quarter of last year. This rise was based on net sales of DKK34bn on the back of a closer cooperation with personal banking and also gains on securities of DKK68bn. At the end of the quarter, Danske Capital launched new investment products to as alternatives to deposits.

Total income rose by 15%, from DKK500m to DKK600m, and was driven by the higher AUM, which were up by 9%, and a slight rise in margins, from 0.26% to 0.27%. which were driven by improvements in the product mix in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2014. In the first quarter of 2015, 67% of all investment product provided above average returns.

Click here to read the full Danske Bank interim report for Q1 2015.

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