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The Belgian-Dutch bancassurance group Fortis Bank reported a
net profit of €1.167 billion in the first quarter of 2007, it said Friday.
Profits dropped some 12 percent from the same period last year, due to its
banking and insurance operations suffering from exceptional items and the
January Kyrill storms respectively.
The company results for the first months of the year were
higher than the €1.15 billion analysts had expected. The group said that it
sees a “good start” to the year and remains on track to meet its 2006-2011
objectives.
"This means we took the right strategic decisions," board president
Jean-Paul Votron said, "We are well under way of achieving our goals
for 2011."
Banking activity was responsible for €903 million of the
total profit, while insurance activities resulted in €352 million net profit.
Fortis, along with two other banks, is part of the
consortium bidding for the ABN Amro holding. The bank and its partners in the
consortium are attempting to outbid a friendly offer for ABN Amro from Barclays with a bid worth about €69.9
billion ($94.7 billion), which would be the largest takeover in the history of
the financial industry.
Fortis' shares have consequently dropped some 7 percent over
the past month due to worries it may be paying too much.
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