VTB expects to meet or exceed consensus profit forecast of 83 bln rubles in 2012
MOSCOW. Oct 30 (Interfax) - VTB expects to post an IFRS net profit in 2012 that meets or even exceeds the consensus forecast, Herbert Moos, deputy chairman of the state-controlled Russian bank's management board, told Interfax.
"We haven't lowered anything, we said [at a meeting with investors - ed.] that profit will either correspond to the consensus or better," Moos said.
VTB management held a meeting with investors in London on Monday as part of a non-deal road show. Participants in the meeting remarked that the consensus forecast for VTB's net profit in 2012 has been revised to 83 billion rubles.
The consensus forecast of analysts at 17 investment banks for the VTB group's net profit in 2012 was 89.9 billion rubles as of September 18, with the highest forecast being 131 billion rubles and lowest 72.2 billion rubles.
VTB is forecasting a net profit of 120 billion-140 billion rubles. "For 2013 we confirmed that we will be within the bounds of the three-year strategic goals approved by the supervisory board in 2012," Moos said.
VTB president and management board chairman Andrei Kostin said at the end of September that the bank expects to close 2012 with a net profit that would at least be equivalent to the 2011 figure. VTB posted a net profit of 90.5 billion rubles to International Financial Reporting Standards in 2011. Earlier, the bank had forecast a net profit of 100 billion rubles for 2012.
Prior to this, Moos had said that the bank might revise its net profit guidance. "Maybe in the third-fourth quarters we will come out with some sort of revision," he said, adding that for the time being VTB was maintaining its profit forecast of 100 billion rubles.
VTB's net profit to IFRS fell 37.3% to 33.6 billion rubles in the first half of 2012 from 53.6 billion rubles in the same period of 2011.