Royal Bank of Scotland Group said on Friday that its 2018 profits rose sharply and that it will pay a special dividend — but it warned that Brexit uncertainty is putting its medium-term cost targets at risk.

For the fourth quarter, RBS made a net profit of £286m. The quarterly performance contributed to an annual net profit of £1.62bn. Analysts had forecast an annual net profit of £1.42bn, according to company-compiled consensus.