27th Apr 2005 11:01
Allied Irish Banks PLC27 April 2005 EMBARGO 11:00 27 APRIL 2005 Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. Annual General Meeting ("AIB") (NYSE:AIB) Address by AIB Group Chairman Dermot Gleeson to AIB AnnualGeneral Meeting held on 27 April, 2005. CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY AIB Performance I would like to start by commenting on AIB's performance in 2004. First we achieved excellent financial results - our total shareholder return was26 per cent - well ahead of our peer group. Our success is reflected in theincrease in our dividend, which has gone up by over 50 per cent since the year2000. We had strong income growth of 11 per cent and costs grew by 7 per cent. Loanvolumes were up by 28 per cent while deposits grew by 14 per cent. Regulatory Investigations In the Annual Report I set out the position about regulatory investigations lastyear in relation to foreign exchange charges and other issues. As shareholderswill be aware, I also appeared with Michael Buckley before the Finance andPublic Services Committee of the Oireachtas last October and explained fully thecircumstances in relation to these matters. There is little I can add to what Ihave said before on these issues other than to apologise again - to you ourshareholders - for our failings and to reiterate the Board's and management'sdetermination to do our business in an efficient, compliant and ethical manner. Bank Profits The banks are the nervous system of the economy. A growing economy needsprofitable banks. People who criticise our profits frequently have a poorunderstanding, sometimes no understanding at all, of what our profits are usedfor. As you will see from our summary report, the great bulk of profits - over90% of our profits - go in one of 3 directions. A third of our profits go to paying dividends to our shareholders, 88,000 ofthem world-wide, whose funds support the business - they get a yield of about4%. Another third of our profits are kept, retained to grow the business - in2004 about half a billion Euro, enough capital to support about • 6 billion innew lending. And about a quarter of our profits are paid in taxes. Beneficiaries of AIB's Success It may not be generally appreciated that a great number of people in thiscountry and abroad benefit from the success of AIB. We have about 13,000 employees in the Republic of Ireland and a further 2,000pensioners in addition to almost 57,000 shareholders resident here - in totalalmost 1 in 50 in the population and more if you take account of people'sfamilies. On top of this there are over almost half a million members (473,000) of privatesector pension funds in this country - the vast majority of whom have a stronginterest in the continued success of successful Irish companies like AIB. Last year we bought over €300 million worth of goods and services from over5,500 businesses in the Republic. Meetings With Investors Since being appointed Chairman I have written to our largest investors andoffered to meet them. This is in line with the recommendations by Sir DerekHiggs in his review of corporate governance that the Chairman ensures effectivecommunication with shareholders and ensures that the Board develops anunderstanding of the views of major investors. My meetings complement the veryeffective and extensive investor relations programme conducted by Executivemanagement. Shareholders will be interested to note that the views conveyed tome indicate a high level of satisfaction with corporate governance in AIB and inthe performance of the company. Group Chief Executive I want to acknowledge the contribution of Michael Buckley to AIB during his termof office as Chief Executive. He has dealt superbly with some major challenges.His contribution to the strategic direction of the Bank has been vital to thegreat success we have achieved and is clearly evident from the outstandingresults achieved in 2004. As you know the Board has appointed Eugene Sheehy as Chief Executive-Designate.We had to choose from a very high quality field of both internal and externalcandidates and I am confident that Eugene will lead AIB to even greater successin the years ahead. Business Momentum Our business has performed very well in the first quarter. We continue to enjoyexcellent loan growth in our Republic of Ireland, United Kingdom andInternational Corporate Banking activities. We also expect another year ofstrong deposit growth. Asset quality is at historically high levels. 2004 was a challenging and at times a difficult year. But the prospects remain bright for AIB and we continue to expect earnings pershare in 2005 to be in a 135 - 137c range under the new International AccountingStandards. -ENDS- For further information please contact:Alan Kelly Catherine BurkeHead of Capital & Group Investor Relations Head of Corporate RelationsAIB Group AIB GroupBankcentre BankcentreBallsbridge BallsbridgeDublin 4 Dublin 4Tel: +353-1-6600311 ext. 12162 Tel: +353-1-6600311 ext. 13894 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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