Shares in AIB jumped today after it reported a "very strong" third quarter performance on the back of income and loan book growth and said it remains confident in its outlook for the remainder of 2024 and beyond.
In a trading update for three months from July to September, AIB said that its gross loans increased to €70.4 billion, up €3.4 billion or 5% since December 2023, while new lending rose by 17% to €10 billion - of which 35% was green lending at €3.5 billion.
It said that personal lending in Ireland was up 9% to €1 billion, which reflected its larger customer base and an increase in consumer credit demand.
New lending to SMEs in Ireland increased by 4% to €1.2 billion, it added.
Meanwhile, new lending in Capital Markets increased by 11% to €3 billion, while new lending in the UK was up 4% to £0.7 billion as AIB said it continues to focus on its chosen market sectors there.
AIB said it had completed the final migration of €0.8 billion worth of Ulster Bank tracker mortgages and the lender's mortgage market share stood at 36% in September.
The bank said that growth in customer accounts brought them to €108 billion, up from €107 billion in June, but it noted that the flow of funds to term accounts slowed in the third quarter.
AIB said that non-performing loans were unchanged from June 2024 at €2.2 billion, which represented 3.1% of gross loans, and it added that it remains vigilant with careful management of the loan book.
Looking ahead, AIB said that as it closes out the first year of its new strategic cycle, the group is on track to deliver a very strong performance in 2024.
"Against the backdrop of a supportive domestic economy we are well-positioned for the future with a growing loan book and resilient and diversifying income. Our confidence in our outlook for the remainder of 2024 and beyond is underpinned by our leading customer franchise, competitive market positioning and strong balance sheet," it added.
AIB CEO Colin Hunt said the bank had a very strong third quarter performance, continuing the momentum from the first half.
"Demonstrating our ability to generate and return capital, we completed a €500m directed share buyback with the Minister for Finance in the third quarter, bringing payments to the State to €17 billion including €3.1 billion this year," Mr Hunt said.
"We remain confident in our outlook for the remainder of 2024 and beyond given our 3.3 million customer base, competitive market positioning, growing loan book and resilient and diversifying income," he said.
"The Irish economy continues to perform well and AIB plays a key role in its success by supporting our customers and their communities. We are implementing our strategy at pace and remain on course to deliver sustainable returns to our shareholders guided by our medium-term target of a RoTE of 15%," he added.
Shares in AIB were higher in Dublin trade today.
