Bank Pekao SA expects its 2017 profit to match, or be slightly higher than, its 2016 earnings, news agency PAP reported Aug. 2, citing CFO Tomasz Kubiak.

He reportedly said that the 2017 financial result will be positively influenced by a one-off gain stemming from the acquisition of an outstanding 51% stake in asset manager Pioneer Pekao.

The lender, whose main shareholders include state-controlled insurer PZU SA and Polish development fund PFR, posted a net profit of 884.8 million Polish zlotys for the first half of 2017, down 30% year over year, PAP noted.

Luigi Lovaglio, who held the post of Pekao's CEO prior to ownership changes at the lender in June, said in May that the bank was eyeing a single-digit drop in its 2017 earnings compared with the 2016 net profit of 2.28 billion zlotys.

As of Aug. 1, US$1 was equivalent to 3.60 Polish zlotys.