Shares in Anglo Irish Bank rose sharply in Dublin today after the bank reported pre-tax profits of €685.2m for the year to the end of September, up 36% on the previous year, after record growth in lending.
Earnings per share were up 28% to 73.21 cent and the company will pay a final dividend of nine cent, bringing the total for the year to 13.54 cent. Net lending to customers rose by €9.8 billion to €34.4 billion, an increase of 40%.
Chief executive David Drumm, presenting his first set of annual results, described the year as an 'outstanding' one for the bank. He said the amount of lending in the pipeline, at €6 billion, was at record levels and the outlook for the economies in which it operated remained positive. He added that the quality of its lending was 'excellent', with non-performing loans representing just 0.5% of total lending.
In Ireland, business lending by 46% to €19.4 billion. The bank said many Irish clients were looking to invest abroad, and the bank had now opened an office in the Czech capital Prague to work with these customers. But the bank added that it was not trying to build an indigenous European lending franchise.
In the UK, there was a 27% rise in loans to €12.5 billion, while lending in the US jumped by 81% to €2.5 billion. Anglo said its treasury and wealth management divisions also performed strongly.
Shares in Anglo Irish closed 61 cent higher at €11.58 in Dublin this evening.
