Danish financial group Danske Bank posted an above-forecast 44 per cent rise in nine-month pretax profit today and raised its full-year earnings forecast.
Pretax profit for the group rose to 12.7 billion Danish crowns ($2.05 billion) in the January-September period, above the 8.8 billion in the same period a year ago.
Danske raised its full-year pretax profit forecast to 25 per cent above last year's 13 billion crowns, corresponding to 16.3 billion crowns.
The bank previously saw a 10 per cent rise in pretax profit. Analysts had expected the bank to raise its guidance partly because of the sale of finance company HandelsFinans last month, but Danske's new guidance tops the average market forecast by around 1 billion crowns.
Performance was partly boosted by its Irish operations - Northern Bank in Northern Ireland and National Irish Bank in Ireland - which were bought by the financial group last year. Integration of the two Irish banks was going according to plan, it said.
Net interest income rose 16 per cent to 12.7 billion crowns, 100 million above the market forecast. Net fee income increased 22 per cent to 5.3 billion against analysts' expectations of 5.1 billion. Trading income jumped 49 per cent to 4.9 billion crowns, also above the market consensus of 4.5 billion.
Danske bank recorded a net positive entry for credit loss expenses of 288 million crowns, against a charge of 834 million in the first nine months of 2004.