Deutsche Bank posted on Thursday a better-than-expected 10% rise in first-quarter profit as a resurgence in fixed-income trading and deal-making propelled revenue at its investment banking division.

Net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.275 billion euros ($1.37 billion) in the quarter. That compares with profit of 1.158 billion euros a year earlier, and it was better than analyst expectations for profit of around 1.2 billion euros.

The gains mean investment banking was able to reclaim its position as Deutsche's biggest breadwinner from its giant retail division that had recently benefited from higher interest rates but suffered from customer service glitches.

The group's figures marked the 15th consecutive quarter of profit - a considerable streak in the black for Deutsche after hefty losses during the last decade.

 

"We are firmly committed to continued delivery on our path towards our 2025 goals," Chief Executive Officer Christian Sewing said.

Those goals include a decline in its cost-to-income ratio that analysts believe may be too ambitious.

Despite the bank's better-than-expected earnings, Deutsche is navigating a weak economy in its home market, even if German business morale has improved.

And regulators have warned that 2024 will be less rosy for German bank profits as a property crisis weighs and loans go bad.

Deutsche's investment banking revenue rose 13% during the quarter, better than an expected 6.9% rise. A 5% drop in revenues at the corporate bank missed expectations for a 3.5% fall, and the retail division's 2% revenue decline came in as forecast. ($1 = 0.9339 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Sims and Matthias Inverardi, Editing by Rachel More and Jamie Freed)