Five Icelandic investment companies are the fastest growing of the twenty biggest investing companies of the Nordic countries.
According to Markadurinn weekly, Exista, Landsbanki Bank, Kaupthing Bank, Glitnir Bank and Straumur Investment Bank are the only investment companies of these twenty the worth of which has increased more than twenty percent in the last six months.
Share prices in Exista have gone up by 67 percent since January 1, by 50 percent in Landsbanki and Kaupthing but less for shares in Glitnir and Straumur.
In an interview with Markadurinn, Hermann Thórisson, an analyst at Landsbanki said that that handsome profits and expectations for further takeovers were the main explanations for this record spur.
Kaupthing is currently the eight largest financial corporation in the Nordic countries. It is worth ISK 900 billion (USD 14.35 billion) and delivered after-tax profits of ISK 45.8 billion (USD 750 million) for the first half of 2007. This morning, Landsbanki reported an after-tax profit for the first half of 2007 of ISK 26.3 billion (USD 420 million) while Glitnir’s after-tax profit for the same period is ISK 16.5 billion (USD 260 million).
