Brazil's Bradesco posts 39% rise in Q1 profit, renews share buyback program

SAO PAULO, May 7 (Reuters) - Brazilian lender Banco Bradesco BBDC4.SA posted on Wednesday a 39.3% increase in its first-quarter recurring net profit when compared to a year earlier, while maintaining its previously announced outlook for 2025 and renewing a share buyback program.

Bradesco reported a 5.86 billion reais ($1.02 billion) recurring net profit for the quarter through March 31, while analysts polled by LSEG expected a 5.47 billion-real profit.

The bank, which has been working to recover profitability after higher costs led to bad results in recent years, said in a securities filing that "profitably improvement is underway."

Return on average equity, a gauge of profitability, came in at 14.4% in the first quarter, up 4.2 percentage points from the same period last year.

Bradesco's total credit portfolio reached 1 trillion reais, increasing nearly 13% on a yearly-basis, while delinquency rates over 90 days eased 0.9 percentage points to 4.1%.

On the revenue front, Bradesco's interest income net of provisions jumped over 30% to 9.6 billion reais.

In a separate filing, the lender announced a fresh buyback program of up to 106.6 million shares, including both common and preferred stocks, which is set to be carried out through November 2026.

($1 = 5.7450 reais)