MOSCOW, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Russian mid-sized bank Vozrozhdeniye reported higher-than-expected net profit for the second quarter but slashed its full-year 2009 earnings forecast by 70 percent on Wednesday as provisions rose.
Moscow-traded shares in the bank were up 1.76 percent at 1030 GMT, outperforming the broader market index and larger peers Sberbank and VTB.
'Overdue loans are stabilising but we will increase coverage for them. The more coverage, the better, so we plan to channel around 2.5 billion roubles into provisions in the second half of the year,' Deputy Chief Executive Lyudmila Goncharova said.
Vozrozhdeniye, ranked among Russia's top 30 banks in terms of assets, posted second-quarter net profit of 256 million roubles, beating an analyst forecast of 178 million roubles.
Vozrozhdeniye, viewed by some analysts as a barometer for mid-sized Russian banks, is adopting a cautious approach with regard to the country's economy as it struggles with its first contraction in a decade.
The bank cut its 2009 full-year earnings forecast to 1 billion roubles ($31.70 million).
'It is unclear what is going to happen this autumn, whether the economy will begin to revive this year or next,' Goncharova told a news conference.
The bank plans to increase its corporate loan portfolio of 80 billion roubles by 6-9 percent by the end of the year and hopes bad loans will not increase significantly from a level of 7.3 percent of its total credit portfolio as of June 30.
($1=31.55 Rouble)
(Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: RUSSIA VOZROZHDENIYE/ (dmitry.sergeev@reuters.com; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: dmitry.sergeev.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Moscow-traded shares in the bank were up 1.76 percent at 1030 GMT, outperforming the broader market index and larger peers Sberbank and VTB.
'Overdue loans are stabilising but we will increase coverage for them. The more coverage, the better, so we plan to channel around 2.5 billion roubles into provisions in the second half of the year,' Deputy Chief Executive Lyudmila Goncharova said.
Vozrozhdeniye, ranked among Russia's top 30 banks in terms of assets, posted second-quarter net profit of 256 million roubles, beating an analyst forecast of 178 million roubles.
Vozrozhdeniye, viewed by some analysts as a barometer for mid-sized Russian banks, is adopting a cautious approach with regard to the country's economy as it struggles with its first contraction in a decade.
The bank cut its 2009 full-year earnings forecast to 1 billion roubles ($31.70 million).
'It is unclear what is going to happen this autumn, whether the economy will begin to revive this year or next,' Goncharova told a news conference.
The bank plans to increase its corporate loan portfolio of 80 billion roubles by 6-9 percent by the end of the year and hopes bad loans will not increase significantly from a level of 7.3 percent of its total credit portfolio as of June 30.
($1=31.55 Rouble)
(Reporting by Dmitry Sergeyev; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter) Keywords: RUSSIA VOZROZHDENIYE/ (dmitry.sergeev@reuters.com; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: dmitry.sergeev.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.