Profits boost for home loans company
The UK's ninth largest bank expects its pre-tax profits to rise by at least ten per cent this year.
Northern Rock has confidently predicted it will meet analysts' consensus forecasts and suggests it will see an underlying profit of around £427 million.
That is two per cent up on the analysts' prediction and the bank has put the figures down to its increase in the market share amid continued strong lending.
"Our lending performance in the second half of the year, as the housing market has quietened, is particularly encouraging," said chief executive Adam Applegarth in a statement.
In an attempt to counteract the slowdown in the UK's housing market, Northern Rock is trying to take market share from its competitors.
According to the Bank of England, British mortgage approvals fell to their lowest in four years during August.
The Newcastle-based bank is currently the middle-performer of Britain's 11 listed banks, as its stock has fallen 0.5 per cent over the course of 2004.
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