DON'T STEP IN, SAYS IL&P - Irish Life and Permanent has said its first-half pre-tax operating profits fell 7% to €300m and its profits for the full year will be down 10% on 2007.
The country's biggest mortgage lender says its mortgage book is in good shape and does not think it would be a good idea for the Government to intervene in the property market.
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KINGSPAN FEELS PRESSURE IN IRISH MARKET - Building materials group Kingspan has reported a 22% drop in first-half pre-tax profits to €83.9m. Turnover was down 6.5%. Kingspan specialises in insulation products and owns Century Homes.
Chief executive Gene Murtagh said Ireland had been a 'very pressurised environment' in the period, with a dramatic decline in house building in Ireland. He said construction output was 'nearing a bottom' but would remain weak for some time.
But he said it had been a 'tremendous' six months in western and eastern Europe, helped by stronger economic conditions and the company's expansion in these markets.
Mr Murtagh said that Kingspan was looking to North America for further expansion following a recent buy, as the area was beginning to embrace low energy buildings, while it would also be looking at the Indian market.
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ONLINE STARS IN PADDY POWER RESULTS - Bookmaker Paddy Power's first-half pre-tax profits rose by 10% to €47.1m, helped by strong growth in online gambling.
Chief executive Patrick Kennedy said online gambling had been the 'star of the show', and was now generating more profits than all of its Irish betting shops.
The bookmaker is cutting its outlook for the full year due to worse sporting results since the start of the second half, while Mr Kennedy said Paddy Power had also cut prices as consumers were facing more financial pressures. He said the business was still growing in the second half.
Mr Kennedy said currency movements had hit its UK figures, but underlying revenues were up substantially and there were profits of €500,000. Paddy Power has put development teams in place to expand in Manchester, Glasgow and Northern Ireland. Mr Kennedy said it now expected to have 150 shops in the UK by 2011, more than it expected previously.
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CURRENCIES - The euro is worth $1.47 and 79.3p sterling.
