BoI profit forecast at 6% rise

BANK of Ireland is expected to report a 6%-plus increase in pre-tax profits to close to €580 million for the six months to the end of September when they release interim figures Thursday.

Davy Stockbrokers, owned by the Bank of Ireland (BoI), said a high single-digit growth figure, as signalled in BoI’s recent trading statement, is a commendable performance at a time of extreme market volatility.

Davy analyst Emer Lang said: “Our interim pre-exceptional profit before tax (PBT) and diluted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) forecasts of 585m (+6.6%) and 48.7c (+8.7%) are consistent with the trading statement.”

Stuart Draper, banking analyst with the independent brokerage Dolmen Butler Briscoe, has assessed BoI’s pre-tax profit at just below Davy’s at580 million. “We are forecasting profit before tax and earnings per share of 580m and 48.5c respectively, year on year increases of 6% and 8%. With markets at similar levels now to where they were on 20th September, the famous unit-linked management fee variance of last year is unlikely to show any material year-on- year deterioration,” said Mr Draper.

“However, with its recent takeover approach to Abbey National, Bank of Ireland has clearly demonstrated it wants to do a major, transforming deal and history suggests the failure in executing the Abbey deal does make it (BoI) quite likely now to receive a takeover approach in the medium term,” he added.