Irish Life and Permanent share price to grow

AN improvement in the sales of life assurance products in 2004 opens the way for significant improvement in the Irish Life and Permanent share price, stockbrokers Dolmen Securities believe.

Dolmen banking analyst Stuart Draper, in a note to clients in advance of a trading statement from IL&P on Monday, said that given the improving environment for life and pension sales, as well as the current record levels of Irish mortgage lending, this trading update should be justifiably upbeat.

“The environment for life and pension sales has been helped recently by a tax filing date in October, a better developed PRSA infrastructure, as well as the improving equity market backdrop.