BCR reports 214m-euro net profit

BCR, the biggest bank in the system, posted a net profit worth 214.5 million euros, up 16.4% against results in 2005. The gross profit stood at 263 million euros, 21% more than that achieved in the previous year. The income was influenced by expenditures made at the end of the year for the assessment and restructuring of operations, with a view to integrating the bank into the Erste Bank group. Restructuring costs amounted to almost 40 million euros. Had it not been for their impact, the BCR would have made a 254.2 million-euro profit, 38% higher than in 2005, when profit stood at 184 million euros. “The overall positive results seen by the BCR are a first sign of the additional potential that the Group can capitalise on with this acquisition,” stated Andreas Treichl, CEO of Erste Bank.