February 10 (SeeNews) - Italy's UniCredit Group said that the pre-tax profit of its Bulgarian unit UniCredit Bulbank rose 5.8% year-on-year in 2016, reaching 204 million euro ($217 million).
Operating income rose by 6.2% to 462 million euro in 2016, UniCredit Group said in its fourth quarter and full year financial report.
Net interest income edged up by 0.5% to 297 million euro in 2016, while net fees and commissions added 5.7% to 108 million euro.
Customers' deposits rose by 11.7% to 7.6 million euro in 2016 while loans added 6.2% year-on-yeart, reaching 5.6 million euro.
In the fourth quarter alone, profit before tax edged up 2.9% to 36 million euro, compared to the respective period in 2015.
The bank operated 179 branches in the country at end-2016.
UniCredit Bulbank is Bulgaria's largest bank by assets, according to central bank data as of end-January 2017.
($ = 0.9398 euro)