Lombard Bank Malta plc on Thursday reported a pre-tax profit for the first six months of the year of €5.41 million, an increase of 5.7 per cent over the same period last year. Profit after tax stood at €3.69 million, up by 11.6 per cent over the previous year.

Loans and advances to customers stood at €325.57 million; customer deposits increased by nine per cent to reach €483.46 million.

On a group basis, the pre-tax profit figure is down by 17 per cent when compared to the record profits registered for the same period in 2008. This is due to one-time transactions at Maltapost last year which were not repeated this year.

The pre-tax profit of Lombard Bank Group for the first half of 2009 amounted to €6.44 million. The post-tax profit for the period stood at €4.09 million, down by 18.9 per cent compared to the €5.04 million in the previous year.

The group's total assets under management stood at €570.44 million, up 8.8 per cent. Total equity increased by 4.7 per cent to €63.93 million.

Lombard Bank said that notwithstanding subdued business sentiment amid global recession, the bank's loans and advances remained stable, customer deposits grew satisfactorily despite record low interest rates in financial markets.

Results included for the first time a dividend distribution from its subsidiary Redbox Ltd, which holds the group's shareholding in Maltapost plc.

Balance sheet fundamentals remained robust with the quality of asset portfolios continuing to be high.

Over the past few months, the bank's branch network was increased with a fully fledged branch in Qormi.

Maltapost remained a significant contributor to group performance and continued to perform well, even though profits were lower when compared to the record levels registered in 2008. Since becoming a subsidiary in 2007, synergies within the group were identified and Lombard said they were to be maximised to the benefit of the group.

Lombard's board said the group was well positioned to continue to provide stakeholders with added value even in the current challenging times.

Customer loyalty, shareholder confidence and staff commitment encouraged the board to look to the future with continued cautious optimism.