Eurobank Sec forecast on Bank of Cyprus profits

Eurobank Securities has issued a forecast on the 2006 profits of Bank of Cyprus Pcl, anticipating that net profits in 2006 will increase by 132% YoY to EUR 293 mln or CYP 169.3 mln compared to EUR 123 mln in 2005.

Cypriot analysts expect the Bank of Cyprus to meet and surpass the Eurobank target, in line with a statement made when the 9M06 results were released, whereby the bank said it would bear and surpass its own profit targets stated earlier in the year.

The Financial Mirror estimates that the Bank of Cyprus will report EUR 312 mln or CYP 180 mln in net profits for 2006.

The Greek investment house expects that the increase in profits will arise mainly because of higher banking operations, lower provisions and a decline in cost increases. Bank of Cyprus has announced that it will release its preliminary 2006 results and its 3-year Strategic Plan on February 7, 2007.