The boss of The Co-operative Bank has said he remains "confident" for the future after its income rose in the first three months of 2023.
The Manchester-headquartered bank posted a total income of £131.1m for the first quarter, up from the £110.2m it achieved during the same period in 2022.
Its pre-tax profits nudged up from £30.5m to £30.6m.
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Operating expenditure increased by 20% to £101.5m due to an increase in staff costs following cost-of-living payments as well as salary rises and higher recruitment.
The results come two weeks after reports the bank is in early stages of "exploring strategic options" that could see it be sold or undergoing an initial public offering (IPO).
Based on its latest annual accounts, which were published in March, the bank had an equity value of £1.6bn as of the end of December 2022.
Chief executive Nick Slape said: "In the first three months of 2023 we have again delivered a strong business performance with a statutory profit before tax of £30.6m and a statutory return on tangible equity of 15.1%.
"In particular, I am pleased with the 28% improvement in underlying profit in the period to £35.1m.
"I remain confident that the bank is well-positioned in the current uncertain macroeconomic environment, with surplus capital and liquidity and a low-risk simple balance sheet.
"In the first quarter, we completed the insourcing of Capita colleagues and are now focussed on migrating customers to our new savings platform.
"Our unique position as the leading ethical bank in the UK, combined with targeted investment to transform and simplify our operations, will enable us to continue to make it easier for our customers to interact with us, whilst delivering sustainable returns for our shareholders."
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