Permanent TSB Group Holdings PLC on Thursday said it had grown underlying profits in 2023 despite a downturn in new mortgage lending, as the company also noted the successful integration of Ulster Bank’s businesses.
Permanent TSB is a Dublin-based financial services provider, in which the Irish Government holds a 57% stake. Shares in Permanent were down 7.1% at €1.51 each in London on Thursday.
In 2023, Permanent delivered €166 million in underlying pretax profit, more than tripled from €45 million in 2022.
On a statutory basis, pretax profit fell 70% to €79 million from €267 million. Permanent said that this reflects negative goodwill on its purchase of €6.7 billion of assets from Ulster Bank in mid-2023, including its Lombard Asset Finance business.
New lending totalled €2.8 billion in 2023, up 7.7% from €2.6 billion in 2022.
Permanent said that its business banking book rose over the year, but was offset by an 11% reduction in new mortgage lending to €2.3 billion. However, permanent increased its share of the new mortgage market to 19.2% from 18.5% over the year, according to December data from the Irish Banking & Payments Federation.
Customer deposits of €23.0 billion at December 31 were 6.0% higher than €21.7 billion at the end of 2022.
2023 also saw Permanent complete the successful integration of the Ulster Bank assets into its business, adding 330 of the latter’s former colleagues alongside 65,000 mortgage customers.
Chief Executive Eamonn Crowley said: ‘Our results demonstrate real momentum through a robust financial performance, driven by income growth, a strong deposit franchise and good asset quality.’
Looking ahead, Permanent said that it expects net income in 2024 to be broadly in line with 2023. It also anticipates a mid-single digit increase in operating costs as the company conitnues to manage the costs of investing in the business’s growth and the effects of inflation.
‘We remain in a strong position to build on the momentum of 2023 as we continue to grow our business, invest in our customer, colleague and community experience, while delivering sustainable returns for our shareholders,’ Crowley added.
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