Ceska sporitelna’s 9M 2001 unconsolidated CAS net profit reached CZK 2.3 bil. (vs. 133 mil. in 1-9/2001) and operating profit CZK 5.84 bil. (+35% y-to-y). At the operating level, the bank showed slightly better performance than we had expected, however, net profit stood below our estimate (mostly due to higher provisioning). Nevertheless, the CAS figures have only minor relevance and are mostly ignored by the market. Far more important will be consolidated IAS results, which CS will release on November 12.
(Jan Hajek)