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ING Groep earnings soar
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November 24, 1999: 9:55 a.m. ET
Dutch bank posts sharp jump in 9-month profit, expects 40-45% full-year rise
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Dutch financial leader ING Groep posted a 51 percent jump in nine-month operating profit Wednesday and said full-year earnings would be ahead of forecast.
A firm performance from its insurance unit lifted total operating profit to 2.415 billion euros ($2.49 billion) in the three quarters to Sept. 30, compared with 1.6 billion a year earlier. Net income climbed 86 percent to 4.11 billion euros.
The Netherlands' second-largest bank said full-year operating earnings would increase by 40 to 45 percent while net profit is expected to jump 80 percent following the sale of its stake in telecom operator Libertel and De Nationale Investeringbank
ING's banking unit posted a sharp 136 percent rise in operating profit to 977 million euros, though last year's result was lowered by the losses from Asia's economic crisis. Insurance earnings climbed 21 percent to 1.44 billion euros.
Booming capital markets helped lift ING's investment banking arm, ING Barings, to a 228 million euro profit.
ING was badly hit by exposure to emerging markets last year and launched a restructuring program that led to 1,200 job losses. The company has expanded rapidly in Europe, and earlier this year paid $2.3 billion for control of BHF Bank, giving it access to the German corporate market.
The net result was slightly above expectations, but ING shares rose just 0.15 percent to 59.77 euros in Amsterdam. 
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ING Groep
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