Major Austrian lender Erste Bank has reported a net profit after considerations of E200.6 million in the third quarter, its lowest since Q3 2005.
The result was E8.5 million down on the previous quarter, but E27.5 million up on the same quarter of the previous year. Net interest income grew by 2.9% from the second quarter’s E757.8 million to E779.7 million in the third quarter. Net commission income, meanwhile, fell by 4.7% from E355.5 million to E338.8 million. The decrease occurred mostly in Austria, and was particularly related to seasonally weaker securities business.
In contrast, income from insurance business, at E10.3 million, was up significantly on the second quarter return of E7.3 million, thanks mainly to the contribution of the insurance subsidiary in the Czech Republic.
For the first nine months of 2006, net profit after minority interests advanced from E508.8 million to E649.3 million, an increase of 27.6%. Net interest income rose 9.6% to E2.3 billion and operating income increased 9.9% from E3.2 billion to E3.5 billion. Net commission income grew from E921.9 million to E1 billion. However, income from insurance for the period fell 6% to E49.7 million.
The results for the first three quarters clearly underline our strength in the retail business, declared An-dreas Treichl, CEO of Erste Bank. Consistent strong demand on the credit side and steady, high growth rates in net interest and net commission income reveal the profit potential inherent in our customer base which now numbers more than 15 million.