BOC profits seen up 88%

A sudden increase in the share price of Bank of Cyprus on Wednesday was attributed to reports circulating in Greece that the Bank’s net profits for 2005 are forecast to increase by 88% year-on-year to CYP 70 mln from CYP 38.5 mln in 2004.

The news were referred to by the Greek financial web site Reporter.gr, which citing unnamed sources forecast the Bank’s net profits at EUR 122 mln or CYP 70 mln from EUR 65 mln or CYP 38.5 mln in 2004 for an increase of 88%.

The web site also forecast an increased dividend of 0.10-0.11 euros or 5.7-6.3c, up from the 4c per share dividend that was paid for 2004. The Bank of Cyprus is due to report its results on February 27.

For the first nine months of the year, BOC reported a 65% increase in profits to CYP 50.39 mln from CYP 30.43 mln reported in the first nine months of 2004.

The increased profits have been a significant reason driving the share price of the Bank higher. Since the start of the year, the Bank’s shares have gained 20.9% following the record close of CYP 3.18 on Wednesday, just a notch above the performance of the CSE GENX, which is up 20.5% since the beginning of the year.

In Greece, the BOC shares closed at a record five-year high of EUR 5.72 or CYP 3.28 on Wednesday on record volume of 7.7 mln shares worth EUR 43.9 mln or CYP 25.2 mln, which in Cyprus volume on the BOC shares amounted to CYP 2.5 mln.