Dutch financial firm ING Group, retirement services operations in Windsor, reported a 24 percent rise in second quarter earnings Thursday largely on the back of a strong recovery at the insurance operations it intends to sell or spin off, The Associated Press reports.
The company said net profit was euro1.51 billion ($2.16 billion) against euro1.21 billion in the same period a year ago.
The rise came despite euro310 million in charges for impairments on Greek bonds following the decision last month to get the private sector to share some of the pain of a second bailout of the country — ING’s banking division bore the brunt of the Greek exposure, taking a euro187 million charge, while the cost to the insurance arm was euro123 million.
ING’s profit increase came despite a 19 percent fall in underlying bank profits to euro1.3 billion. Underlying profit is a nonstandard measure that seeks to strip out the impact of one-time effects on earnings.
ING’s insurance arm was the main reason behind ING’s strong quarterly performance. Its underlying profits leapt to euro673 million from euro18 million on strong investment results and better insurance margins. In the same period of 2010, the company took euro359 million in net charges, mostly to write down the value of its U.S. business.
ING is planning to dispose of its insurance operations as part of a deal with European Union Commission after being bailed out by the Dutch state during the 2008 financial crisis. It plans to repay euro4.5 billion in support and penalties by May 2012.
