Intesa improves full year profit outlook as it prepares to launch MPS bid

MILAN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest bank Intesa Sanpaolo ISP.MI strengthened its full-year outlook on Tuesday as it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings ahead of launching its buyout offer for rival Monte dei Paschi di Siena BMPS.MI.

Intesa now sees a 2026 net profit "well" above €10 billion ($11 billion), versus an earlier forecast of a full-year result above that figure.

It also forecast a "significant" increase in income derived from the gap between lending and deposit rates in 2027.

Net profit in the July-September period totalled €2.65 billion compared with a €2.50 billion average analyst forecast in an LSEG consensus.

After persuading MPS's shareholders to reject the bank's defence strategy with a sweetener and a warning it would walk away, Intesa is awaiting approval early next week from Italy's markets watchdog of its €33-billion share-and-cash bid for the Tuscan lender.

The offer's tender phase is expected to kick off in three weeks' time.

($1 = 0.8937 euros)