Irish Life & Permanent raised its full-year profit outlook today as it predicted strong momentum at its life business would continue into the second half and forecast good progress at its banking business.
"Our expectation is for high teens growth for the year in pre-tax operating profit from our core life and banking business, up from previous guidance of low to mid-teens growth," it said in a statement.
The insurance and banking group gave the mid-teens guidance when it published full-year results in February and repeated it to shareholders as recently as last month.
Shares in the group, which had been 0.8 per cent lower ahead of the statement, were down 1.5 per cent at €19 by 11.45am and in line with a weaker Irish market.
The company said despite a slowdown in the property market and lower levels of lending to home buyers, growth in both its overall loan book and residential mortgages was expected to have been around 20 per cent in the first six months of the year.
It said it was on track to open over 60,000 new current accounts in 2007 after opening about 34,000 in the first six months of the year.
At its life division the company said it expected first-half sales growth of over 35 per cent thanks, in part, to "tremendous growth" in pension sales as customers reinvest money from SSIAs.