6.8 billion euros in revenue, vs. 6.84 billion euros expected

Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Statues stand outside a Deutsche Bank AG branch in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016.

German lender Deutsche Bank reported a strong increase in third-quarter net profit Thursday, beating analyst expectations despite a drop in investment bank revenue.

Here are the key third-quarter metrics:

• Net income: 649 million euros ($768 million) vs. 281 million euros expected, according to Thomson Reuters
• Revenue: 6.8 billion euros vs. 6.84 billion euros expected, according to Thomson Reuters

Germany’s flagship bank posted a better-than-anticipated surge in net income after Reuters analysts had projected a rise of 281 million euros in the three months through to September. For the same period last year net profit came in at 278 million euros.

“While the revenue environment remained challenging, we have made significant progress on our initiatives,” Chief Executive John Cryan said in a statement.

Deutsche Bank has been hampered with weaker earnings and legal troubles in recent years. In January, the lender agreed to pay a $7.2 billion settlement after the U.S. Justice Department found it had misled investors in its sale of residential mortgage-backed securities.

The Frankfurt-based lender is also in the midst of a major restructuring program, which includes the integration of its Postbank retail bank unit and the partial sale of its asset management unit.

“We are convinced that the benefits of our efforts will step by step become more apparent in the coming quarters and years,” Cryan said.