(Bloomberg) -- Bank of Ireland Group Plc reported a 5% rise in first half pretax profit and said it would pay an interim dividend for the first time since the Irish banking crash in 2008.
It will return €352 million ($382 million) to shareholders, the equivalent of 40% of first half profit after tax, the bank said in a statement Wednesday.
The bank reported a €1.1 billion profit before tax and lifted its net interest income guidance for 2024 for the second time this year. That reflects higher interest rates, a growth in lending income, particularly in Ireland, and pricing discipline.
The group’s loan book increased by €1.8 billion with Irish mortgages up 4%. This was in part due to an increase in the supply of houses as the government attempts to tackle the country’s housing crisis.
The results support “upgraded earnings guidance for the year,” the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Myles O’Grady told Bloomberg Radio.
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