The weak stock market conditions have hit Irish Life & Permanent's earnings this year, according to a trading statement issued this morning.
But the company said that after market effects were stripped out, it expected underlying earnings growth of 10% for this year.
Irish Life & Permanent said it would record a higher than expected profit of €30m from the disposal of surplus branches following the Permanent TSB integration, but this would be offset by a €10m charge linked to a revised estimate of the costs of the process.
The bank said volumes in its life and banking businesses increased strongly. It said life sales were boosted by the Government's SSIA scheme, while bank lending growth benefited from the continued strength of the residential mortgage market.
Irish Life & Permanent said total sales this year were expected to rise by over 20%, with the retail and corporate divisions expecting growth of 13% and 10% respectively.
Lending growth was expected to be around 14%, according to the statement, with new mortgage lending up 25%.
The bank said its negative unit-linked fee variance would be around €90-95m because of falling investment markets. This was higher than many brokers had expected.
Shares in Irish Life and Permanent closed 14 cent lower at €10.27 in Dublin this evening.
