German lender Hypo Real Estate is to cut a number of jobs in its Irish operation in a bid to cut costs.
Up to 70 Irish jobs may go as part of a group-wide restructuring plan, in an attempt to to trim €25 million in costs annually by 2007. A total of 140 jobs are to be lost across the group, divided between Ireland and Germany. Hypo currently employs approximately 150 people in Ireland.
The restructring will see Stuttgart-based subsidiary Württembergische Hypothekenbank (WürttHyp) take over the international business, including the interest in Hypo Real Estate Bank International in Dublin.
However, the company is not closing down operations in the city; it is establishing a new entity, Hypo Public Finance Bank, which will be extended to include public sector finance, including public sectorlending, infrastructure financing, municipal project financing and forfeiting.
The news came as the real estate financier published its latest financial results, which revealed a net proft of €82 million for the second quarter of 2005. Pre-tax income for the period climbed to €113 million, compared with €59 million in 2004.
For the first half of the year, consolidated net income before taxes jumped 89 per cent to €215 million The company achieved new business of €8.3 billion over the six months, which exceeded expectations. Hypo had predicted a figure of €13.5 billion for the entire year.
Net income after taxes rose by 92 per cent over the six-month period, from €84 million to €161 million. This results in earnings per share of €1.19. Operating revenues grew 5.1 per cent, from €414 million in the previous year to €435 million.