This morning EB released its 9M 2004 consolidated IFRS results above the market and our expectations. Net profit reached EUR 382.6m, up 50% y-o-y; above the market expectation of EUR 373m. NI for 3Q04 reached its highest level in the history of the bank at EUR 142.4m, ahead of the expected EUR 132m. Pre-tax profit increased to EUR 769.6m, up 31%, compared to an expected EUR 740.3m. Net interest income rose 3.0% to EUR 1993.7m, while net commission income increased 17% to EUR 851.8m. Net trading result declined less than expected to EUR 156.2m. Net interest margin remained stable at 2.20% from 1H04, while the C/I ratio slightly worsened to 64.5%. The results benefited from a strong contribution from Central European units and improved financials at the Austrian business. CEO A. Treichl confirmed the bank’s target of a full-year net profit of EUR 500m. A conference call takes place today at 3:30pm CET. The dial-in telephone No. for the UK/Europe is +44 20 7984 7582 and for the US +1 718 354 1158.
Tomáš Gatěk, Patria Finance