Anglo Irish Bank expects growth of close to 40 per cent in earnings per share in the six months to the end of March.

The estimate, announced in a trading statement yesterday, is based on the bank's strong performance in the first five months of its 2007 financial year. It excludes a €22 million pretax profit arising from the sale of the Anglo's Isle of Man trust activities in December 2006.

The bank reported "positive trading" across all regions and business areas in the five months to the end of February. The strength of its lending franchise has been reflected in net loan growth of €7.3 billion so far this period, it said.

"This has been an excellent start to 2007 and points towards a strong full-year out-turn," said group chief executive David Drumm. "All businesses are delivering high-quality growth and we remain confident of the bank's future prospects."

Chief financial officer Matt Moran said lending margins were holding firm. "Asset quality remains very robust, which is the crux of long-term profitability," he added.

Anglo had doubled its retail customer base in the UK to about 60,000 over the past six to nine months, Mr Moran said.

The bank's position was "bolstered" by a successful equity placing last month, through which it raised more than €540 million. "That positions us really well from an equity perspective and a capital perspective going forward," Mr Moran said.

A number of brokerages raised their full-year earnings forecasts for Anglo yesterday in light of the positive trading update.

NCB said Anglo "remains one of the best growth stories in the sector", and raised its target price to €18 per share, from €17.40.

Anglo's share price gained 94 cent yesterday, or 6.1 per cent, to close at €16.35 yesterday.