ING Group First-Quarter Net Profit rises 72% to EUR 1,941 million.
The firm said net profit per share increases to EUR 0.89 from EUR 0.54 in first quarter 2004, while profit before tax excluding impact of divestments rose 28.9% to EUR 2,185 million. Additionally, ING said total operating expenses declined EUR 398 million compared with fourth quarter.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2004, net profit increased 37.9% from EUR 1,408 million to EUR 1,941 million. Total operating expenses declined by a total of EUR 398 million in the first quarter from a peak in the fourth, with both banking and insurance showing improvements.
Banking profit before tax excluding divestments increased 18.3% to EUR 1,192 million, bolstered by higher results from all three business lines. Wholesale Banking posted a 9.7% increase to EUR 725 million, due to the release of some debtor provisions. Retail Banking rose 21.2% to EUR 394 million, driven by higher results from the Netherlands and Belgium. ING Direct posted a 62.8% increase in profit before tax to EUR 127 million, lifted by strong growth in funds entrusted and mortgage lending.
Assets under management increased 6.0% to EUR 470.1 billion in the first quarter from EUR 443.4 billion at the end of 2004, excluding the impact of divestments. The increase was driven by a net inflow of EUR 13.3 billion, the impact of a decline in the euro in the first quarter of EUR 12.1 billion, and higher stock markets, which added EUR 0.5 billion. Including the impact of divested units, which had a combined EUR 47.7 billion in funds under management, and a restatement due in part to IFRS, total assets under management decreased by 4.4%.