Bank of Ireland this morning reported results for the six months to the end of September which were marginally ahead of expectations.
Pre-tax profits were up 28% to €848m, though this included once-off gains, mainly from the sale of Bristol & West's branch network in Britain. Underlying pre-tax profits rose by 8% to €665m, with earnings per share rising 10% to 57.3 cent. A 10% higher interim dividend of 18.2 cent will be paid.
Profits at the bank's retail operations in the Republic were up 16% to €265m, boosting by a 24% increase in total lending, including 26% growth in mortgage lending.
Profits at Bank of Ireland Life were up 70% to €68m, while profits at its wholesale financial services arm grew by 12% to €196m. But UK profits fell 8% to €164m, while the asset management division recorded a 27% drop to €51m. This was mainly because of a drop in assets under management at BIAM to €44 billion. The bank's joint venture with the UK Post Office lost €12m.
BoI said it was on target to save €30m for the full year under its restructuring programme, which will see just over 2,000 voluntary redundancies.
Bank of Ireland shares closed 15 cent lower at €13.05 in Dublin this evening.
