Banestes SA - Banco do Estado do Espírito Santo expects its expanded loan portfolio to grow by between 8% and 11% in 2018, slower than the 15.7% growth recorded in the prior year.

The company offered the guidance as it reported a net profit of 51 million Brazilian reais for the fourth-quarter of 2017, up 18.6% year over year, as its financial margin income grew 17.7%.

Banestes also said that it expects its operational efficiency ratio to hit between 53% and 56% for the year, or between 64% and 67% on a risk-adjusted basis. Those ranges compare to a 54.7% efficiency ratio and a 63.6% risk-adjusted ratio recorded for the full year 2017.

As of Feb. 26, US$1 was equivalent to 3.24 Brazilian reais.