Anglo Irish Bank today (Wednesday 24 November 2004) published its preliminary statement for the year to 30 September 2004.

• Pre-tax profits increased by 45% to €504.1m
  (2003: €346.5m)
• Basic earnings per share rose by 47% to 114.53 cent (2003: 78.03 cent)
• “Like for like” profits (profits before general bad debt provisions) increased by 28%
• Total assets increased by 35% to €34.3bn
  (2003: €25.5bn)
• Lending to customers increased by 35% to €24.4bn
• Total Capital Ratio stands at 13.9%
• Final dividend proposed of 15.04 cent bringing total dividend for the year to 22.56 cent, an increase of 20% on 2003

Commenting on the results, Sean FitzPatrick, Group Chief Executive, said:

“The Bank’s performance in 2004 has been excellent. Our franchise continues to strengthen in each of our core markets and these results clearly demonstrate the scalability of the Bank’s model.

Record net loan growth of €6.3bn brought customer loans to €24.4bn, an increase of 35% on last year. Asset quality remains highly robust, reflected in non-performing loans equating to just 0.61% of our closing book and a specific provision charge of 0.08%.

Each division has enjoyed a positive start to the current year. Lending work in progress is at record levels and we look forward to a strong performance for the year to September 2005”

For reference:

Sean FitzPatrick,
Group Chief Executive

Willie McAteer,
Group Finance Director

Matt Moran,
Chief Financial Officer
Anglo Irish Bank
Tel: +353 1 616 2000

24 November 2004