Irish Life & Permanent beat market forecasts with a 3 per cent rise in full-year pre-tax operating profit today and said it was looking forward to 2004 with confidence.
Ireland's third-biggest financial company reported pre-tax operating profit of €365.2 million in the year to end-December - ahead of the €344 million predicted by analysts.
"They're 5 per cent ahead of our estimates at the adjusted EPS and pretax operating levels, so overall the results are very solid, very encouraging," said Mr David Odlum, an industry analyst at NCB Stockbrokers.
IL&P chief executive, Mr David Went, said the outlook for banking remained favourable and that momentum in the life insurance business, which built in the second half of 2003 after a poor first half, was expected to continue.
"The year has started well both in the life business and the banking business, where mortgage lending and car finance are both performing very strongly," Mr Went said in a statement.
NCB noted that the group's results were boosted by a stronger-than-expected €45 million contribution from IL&P's associate company, Allianz, due to an improved underwriting performance.
Underlying adjusted earnings per share slipped three per cent to 111.6 cents from 115.3 cents - largely due to the impact of an Irish government levy - but came in ahead of a forecast 107 cents.
The group announced a 7.4 per cent rise in total dividend to 51.0 cents per share.