BRD Romania 9-Month Net Profit Falls 19% To RON382M

11.04.2011 ZF English

Romania's second-largest lender BRD Societe-Generale (BRD.RO) on Friday said its net profit fell 19% to 382 million lei (EUR90 million) in the first nine months, hit by weak demand and difficult economic conditions.

In January through September 2010, BRD reported a net profit of RON474.2 million.

"The weak demand for banking services continued into the third quarter, as economic growth is still sluggish," said Guy Poupet, BRD's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Net banking income declined 9% on the year to RON2.4 billion in the first nine months, while gross operating profit dropped 14.5% to RON1.36 billion.

BRD said total loans fell 3% to RON33.1 billion in January through September, while overall deposits were at RON29.7 billion, little changed on the year.

Net risk costs decreased 14% to RON904 million at the end of September, from RON1.05 billion in the year-earlier period.

Overall assets reached RON46.5 billion, down from RON47.08 billion in September 2010. The bank's return on equity (ROE) was 10.9%.

BRD's financial results are computed under Romanian accounting standards.

French financial group Societe Generale is the bank's main shareholder, with a 58.32% stake, while the five Romanian regional investment funds SIFs own together a quarter of BRD's shares.

On the Bucharest bourse Thursday, BRD closed up 0.93% at RON10.9 a share.