Poland's top bank PKO BP nets EUR 176 mln in first quarter

Poland's flagship bank PKO BP posted PLN 757 mln (EUR 176 mln) in net profit in the first quarter of 2018, above the consensus expectations at PLN 704.8 mln (PLN 163.7 mln) and up from PLN 525 mln (EUR 122 mln) in the first three months of 2017.

The bank's net profit went up by 44 percent year on year and declined by 8 percent quarter on quarter, with return on equity (ROE) at 9.5 percent.

The interest income amounted to PLN 2.22 bln (EUR 515 mln) in the first quarter of 2018 and was 8 percent higher compared to the same period of the previous year and 1 percent lower than in the last three months of 2017.

The net fee and commission income reached PLN 737 mln (EUR 171 mln), up 4 percent year on year and down 3 percent quarter on quarter.

The bank's costs reached PLN 1.58 bln (EUR 367 mln) and were 1 percent higher year on year and 7 percent above the previous quarter figure.

Impairment allowances reached PLN 336 mln (EUR 78 mln) in the first quarter of 2018 and were down in both annual and quarter-on-quarter terms, by 14 and 25 percent, respectively.

The bank's balance sheet total reached PLN 295 bln (EUR 68.5 bln) and was 2.3 percent higher compared to the previous year.

The total capital ratio was at 17.8 percent at the end of the first quarter while the Tier 1 ratio was at 16.4 percent.