Net profit of 271 million euros (£249 million) in the quarter was better than the 217 million euros expected by analysts and compares with 272 million euros a year earlier.

Commerzbank is working on a new strategic plan that it will present later this year after talks to merge with Deutsche Bank were discontinued in April.

"We are continuing on our growth path and are making significant progress. Despite all the successes, challenges continue to increase," Chief Executive Officer Martin Zielke said.

Revenues fell to 2.129 billion euros in the second quarter, from 2.178 billion a year earlier. That was slightly lower than the 2.135 billion expected.

But the bank stuck to its forecast that underlying revenues would be higher in 2019 than in 2018.

The failure of talks with Deutsche raised questions about Commerzbank's future as a stand-alone bank and some foreign banks had expressed interest in taking it over.

(Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Michelle Martin)