FRANKFURT (REUTERS) - Deutsche Bank posted a rise in third-quarter net profit to €649 million (S$1.04 billion) on Thursday (Oct 26), despite a drop in investment bank revenue and a challenging market.

Germany's flagship lender beat expectations of analysts, who had forecast net income of €281 million after €278 million in the third quarter of last year, according to a Reuters poll.

"While the revenue environment remained challenging, we have made significant progress on our key initiatives," chief executive John Cryan said in a statement.

Deutsche Bank is in the midst of a major restructuring announced last March that includes the integration of its Postbank retail bank unit with its own in-house Deutsche Bank-branded consumer bank, as well as the partial sale of its asset management unit.

"We are convinced that the benefits of our efforts will step by step become more apparent in the coming quarters and years," Cryan said.

Revenues at Deutsche Bank's cash-cow bond-trading division were 36 per cent lower in the quarter due to decreased client activity in less volatile markets.