Anglo Irish Bank has put in a strong full year performance, reporting a 49 per cent rise in profits from £30.3 million to £45.1 million. The surge in profits over the 12 months to the end of September was mainly achieved on the back of strong growth in its lending and treasury activities in the Irish market and a good contribution from its operations in the UK and Austria.

Announcing its full-year results yesterday, chief executive, Mr Sean FitzPatrick, said the bank will be continuing to focus on growth in its Irish and UK operations, and is actively seeking to expand its private client business in Europe. "It's been a very satisfactory year. You would have to dig very deep to find anything in these figures that disappoints me."

The bank's share price rose ahead of the results on Monday, gaining 8p to 187p but shed its gains yesterday falling back to 179p, in line with a weaker Dublin market.

After tax, the bank's profits increased by 53 per cent to £37 million, with earnings per share up 35 per cent to 11.62p. On the back of the good results, the board is proposing a final dividend of 3p per share for shareholders, an 18 per cent increase on 1997. The total dividend for the year comes to 4.85p a share, up 15 per cent.

The bulk of the bank's profits were generated in the Irish market, where it estimates it has a 10 per cent share of the small to medium sized business sector. Mr FitzPatrick believes that within the next five to seven years, it's share of that market will rise to between 25 and 30 per cent.

The bank's assets expanded by 39 per cent to £4.4 billion, deposits rose by 44 per cent to £3.9 billion while new lending was up 37 per cent to £2.7 billion. Anglo Irish Bank earned £32.8 million of its total profits in the Irish market compared with £23.1 million in 1997, primarily on the back of the continuing strong demand for lending in the economy. A further £9.5 million was generated in the UK, up from £5.6 million last year while profits from its private clients business in Austria rose from £1.6 million to £2.8 million.

It's lending in the Irish economy is very diversified, with 20 per cent going towards investment property, 19 per cent to back professional enterprises, 15 per cent to the food sector, and 11 per cent to leisure and entertainment and the distribution and wholesale sector respectively. Around £350 million in loans was advanced from its Dublin office, with a further £160 million made available from its area offices in Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway. Another £220 million was advanced in the UK market.

In line with the surge in lending the bank has substantially increased its provisions against bad debts, with its general provision rising from £3.1 million to £6.8 million, while it specific provisions have increased from £5.5 million to £7.4 million. Mr FitzPatrick said that despite the constant demand for lending within the economy, it has not diluted its criteria for advancing loans and the increased provisions reflect the bank's prudent approach.

"It's not a sign that the bubble is about to burst. It's a very advantageous time for banks in Ireland and we remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook for Ireland" he said.