British mortgage bank Northern Rock's underlying profits jumped 14% in the first half of this year as it raised its target for future profit growth to 20% from 15%.
Northern Rock said its profit before tax and exceptional items was £273.7m in the six months to the end of June, but this was slightly below most analysts' forecasts. The company said balances in its savings accounts in the Republic of Ireland were just under €2 billion, up more than 30% compared with the end of 2005.
Analysts said positive lending and targets were countered by a slight increase in bad debts. First-half growth was underpinned by record net lending of £7.3 billion, up 22% from a year ago.
Northern Rock said its share of new UK mortgage lending was 14.3% up to the end of May, compared with 14.5% in 2005.
