WARSAW--Poland's BRE Bank S.A. (BRE.WA), unit of Commerzbank AG
(CBK.XE), said Friday its fourth-quarter net profit dropped 4.3%
annually, beating market expectations as non performing loan
provisions turned out significantly lower than feared.
The bank posted a net profit of 272.6 million zlotys ($88.3
million) in the quarter, significantly higher than the PLN242
million forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires poll of 7 analysts.
BRE's provisions for non-performing loans edged down 0.5% to
PLN89 million, while analysts expected provisions to have risen 31%
to PLN118 million.
The drop in earnings is mostly attributable to declines in net
interest income, down 2.4% annually, and net fee income, down 4.8%.
Both results were a touch below market expectations.
BRE separately said it plans to offer shareholders about one
third of its 2012 annual net profit, which at consolidated level
reached PLN 1.2 billion.
Write to Patryk Wasilewski at patryk.wasilewski@dowjones.com
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