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(Alliance News) - Shares in Bank of Ireland Group PLC climbed on Tuesday, as the company reported a swing to first half profit.
Bank of Ireland's stock rose 8.3% to EUR4.76 each in London on Tuesday morning.
In the six months ended June, the Dublin-based lender posted total operating income of EUR2.90 billion, surging 88% year-on-year from EUR1.49 billion. Bank of Ireland posted a pretax profit of EUR406 million, swinging from a EUR822 million loss.
Profit was also boosted as Bank of Ireland posted just a EUR1 million hit from net impairment losses on financial instruments, almost wiped out from EUR937 million a year earlier.
Bank of Ireland ended the half with a regulatory CET1 ratio of 15.3%, improved from 14.9% in December.
"H121 has seen a strong recovery in our financial performance despite the continued impact of Covid-19 restrictions on business activity, particularly in Ireland," Chief Executive Francesca McDonagh said.
"The outlook for the Irish and UK economies has strengthened since the start of the year, supported by the successful rollout of national vaccination programmes and the gradual lifting of
restrictions. While the low interest rate environment continues to present challenges for banks, expectations for GDP and house prices have improved in both Ireland and the UK."
Bank of Ireland decided against an interim payout, unchanged from a year earlier.
"In December 2020, the ECB published updated recommendations on distributions requesting banks to consider not distributing any cash dividends or conducting share buy-backs, or to limit
such distributions, until 30 September 2021," the company said.
"On 23 July 2021, the ECB announced that it had repealed its recommendation from 30 September 2021. The group expects that distributions will recommence on a prudent and progressive basis."
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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