Net profit in the fourth quarter was 272 million euros, down from 826 million euros a year earlier, the bank said. Analysts had expected profit of 318 million euros, according to a consensus published by RBI.

RBI has been studying a sale or spin-off of its business in Russia since the country’s invasion of Ukraine. “The group continues to work on a potential transaction,” it said.

Its presence there underlines the links between Austria and Russia, which maintain close ties through Russian gas pipelines and finance, with Vienna a hub for cash from Russia and its former Soviet neighbours.