Bank of Ireland posted a 10 per cent rise in underlying first-half earnings today and said a positive outlook for main markets Ireland and the United Kingdom gave it confidence for the future.
Ireland's second-biggest company by market value reported underlying earnings per share of 57.3 cents in the six months to the end of September - slightly ahead of a 9 per cent rise it had projected earlier this year.
Underlying pretax profit came in at €665 million, a rise of 8 per cent, but slightly behind analysts' forecasts of €670 million.
Pretax profit including an exceptional gain of €183 million from the sale of the bank's Bristol & West branch network in the UK was €848 million.
"The outlook for the two main economies in which we operate remains positive," the bank said in a statement. "Our positions in these markets, combined with clear growth plans, the benefits from the strategic transformation programme and continuing firm focus on asset quality gives us confidence for the future."
The bank said pretax profit in its domestic retail business grew by 16 per cent to €265 million on the same period last year, with sales in its life business up 24 per cent and profit in its wholesale operations up 12 per cent to €196 million.
In the United Kingdom, pretax profit slipped by 7 per cent to €112 million, while pretax profit in the bank's asset management business, which has suffered significant outflows this year, fell 27 per cent to €51 million.
The bank's restructuring programme had yielded cost savings of €10 million in the first half and was on track to meet a savings target of 30 million for the year, the bank said.
It announced an interim dividend of 18.2 cents, up 10 per cent on the same period of 2004.