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5/11/15

EU Economy: Why Europe's upbeat earnings are not just down to euro - by Dhara Ranasinghe

What's interesting about Europe's first-quarter earnings is that better-than-expected results are not just down to the weak euro's boost to exports --domestic companies are also making a killing, Barclays said in a note Monday.

"While exporters are beating estimates helped by a weaker euro, domestically focussed stocks are also beating estimates – but by a greater margin," analysts at the British bank said in the note.

Barclays said that its basket of 50 domestically focused stocks in the euro area were seeing better-than-expected sales and earnings per share (EPS) than 50 exporters. It added that the trend was also clear across sectors such as banks, transport and utilities.

For example, French banks Societe Generale and Credit Agricole last week posted quarterly results that were above analyst expectations, helped by a recovery in Europe's economy. German car maker BMW said last week that its underlying earnings rose more than 20 percent to 2.52 billion euros ($2.84 billion) in the first quarter, beating analysts' forecasts.

Meanwhile The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index has soared 18 percent so far this year, outpacing a 2.8 percent gain in the S&P 500
Read more: Why Europe's upbeat earnings are not just down to euro

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