Spanish lender Unicaja announced on Tuesday that its net profit rose by 1.4% in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, as higher fee income and lower provisions partially offset pressure from rising costs.

The country's sixth-largest bank by market capitalization reported a net profit of 161 million euros (188 million dollars) for the January-March period, up from 158 million euros in the first quarter of 2025.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a net profit of 153 million euros.

(1 dollar = 0.8563 euros)

(Reporting by Jesús Aguado; editing by David Latona; Spanish editing by Jorge Ollero Castela)