Ceska sporitelna, Erste Bank’s 98%-owned subsidiary, posted unconsolidated H1 2003 CAS net profit of CZK 3.4 bil., which was below our forecast due to lower-than-expected interest income and higher operating costs. Operating profit of CZK 3.8 bil. stood also below our estimate.
This set of figures is, however, largely ignored by the market; the more important consolidated IAS figures will be released on August 20.
Jan Hájek