Fortis first-quarter earnings drop 31 percent

It said Tuesday the ABN Amro operations it bought had a pro-forma net profit of euro279 million (US$433 million) in the quarter, down 23 percent.

Fortis said profits at its banking arm fell 20 percent to euro721 million (US$1.12 billion), while profits at its insurance arm were down 38 percent to euro219 million (US$340 million).

The main reason for the fall at the banking arm was the impairments, while insurance operations suffered from investment losses. The underlying insurance operations grew, Fortis said.