Irish Life & Permanent hit by US withdrawal

Irish Life & Permanent has revealed a 74% drop in profits after exiting its US operations and investing in its domestic business.

Pre-tax profits fell to £48m (€78m) from £191m (€312m).

The group also declared a final dividend expressed in euros, of 30c, up 8pc on the year, for a total payout of 43c per share, up 10%.

Irish Life was hit by £42.5m (€69.4m) costs as it exited its US operations.

During the year the group completed the sale of two of its businesses in the US, Interstate Assurance Company and First Variable Life Insurance Company.

Total UK and Ireland profits fell 23% to £135m (€220m).

Chief executive David Went said: "We have made great progress in positioning the Group to become the number one provider of personal financial services in Ireland.

"We have created a clearly defined business model from which we can build consistent, strong earnings in the years ahead."