Commerzbank , fending off a possible takeover by Italy's UniCredit , said on Friday that net profit rose nearly 12% in the first quarter, beating expectations despite strong headwinds for the German economy.

Last month, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office approved Italy’s second-largest lender’s plan to purchase a major stake in state-backed Commerzbank. UniCredit revealed last year that it had secured a position of around 28%, with plans to increase it to 29.9%, just short of the 30% threshold requiring it to submit a public bid for the entire bank.

German lender Commerzbank on Friday reported its best quarterly profit since 2011, ahead of a key shareholder meeting where it will seek to rally support to fend off advances from