AIB’s Polish bank sees strong profits recovery

AIB’s Polish Bank Zachodni WBK said yesterday its net profit should double in 2002 thanks to tight cost control and relatively low bad debt charges, after its third-quarter earnings met market expectations.

Zachodni, a unit of Allied Irish Banks (AIB) and one of the Warsaw bourse’s top five banks, reported a net profit of 71 million zlotys (€18 million) for July-September, with the nine-month result reaching 215 million zlotys.

Despite a sector slump, the figure is little changed from quarterly earnings earlier this year and marks a sharp pickup from a restructuring-hit 18 million zloty profit figure in the third quarter of 2001.