Anglo Irish Bank has reported a strong performance with pre-tax profits up 34 per cent to €261.3 million in the year to the end of September.
Announcing the figures yesterday, chief executive, Mr Sean FitzPatrick, said the performance in the current financial year had been very encouraging with the pipeline of loans approved for its customers at its highest level ever. "We believe we can deliver earnings growth of 15 per cent per annum for the next two years. We are very confident that we can achieve that," he said yesterday.
Anglo Irish Bank shares rose 30 cents to €6.70 on foot of the figures. A combination of strong growth in lending together with tighter control of costs and a lower charge for bad debts delivered a better-than-expected return.
The bank has proposed a dividend of 12.53 cents per share for shareholders, a 20 per cent increase on 2001. Earnings per share rose by 35 per cent to 58.14 cents per share.
Mr FitzPatrick, said the bank's total assets expanded by 23 per cent to €19.4 billion during the 12 months, while the mix of its business continued to be diversified with its operations in Britain delivering a greater proportion of its profits.
Some 60 per cent of the group's profits were generated in the Republic, chiefly from its lending and deposit operations. Britain's contribution rose from 23 per cent last year to 31 per cent, with 9 per cent of profits coming from its busiensses in Europe and in Boston.
Anglo Irish Bank's total income at the end of September was €471.5 million, up 23 per cent on last year. Net interest income, the profits it generates from its core lending and deposits business, increased from €269.5 million to €346.9 million.
The total amount of loans advanced during the year rose to €14.3 billion, a 24 per cent rise on 2001. Anglo also expanded its deposit base with the amount of funds rising to €16.9 billion, up 22 per cent. Looking ahead, the bank has approved loans worth €1.3 billion in the Republic and €1.2 billion in the UK for customers in the current financial year.
