The National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) has said it has made a profit of €211m last year.

In its fourth annual report, the agency said its operating profit, before tax and other considerations, was €1.2bn, a 45% increase from 2012.

From the report, published on Tuesday (27 May), some of the key points included:

• The impairment charge for 2013 was €914m, up from €518m in 2012

• In 2013, cash generated was €4.5bn. This includes proceeds of asset disposals by debtors and rental income.

• The total Senior debt bond redemption was €10.5bn – 35% of the total – and there are plans to redeem another €2.5bn by end-June, plus a further €2bn by end-2014.

• Since its establishment in 2009, NAMA has generated €18.6bn in cash, including €14.1bn from asset disposals. €3.5bn of this has been generated in the first five months of 2014 alone.

• NAMA has already exceeded its full-year target for 2014 for paying down its debt; its original target for paying down debt in 2014 was €2.5bn, but it now expects to pay down €7.5bn.

• Like-for-like administration costs, which excludes costs relating to the liquidation of IBRC, fell by 3% in 2013.

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The accounts also reveal that NAMA has built up equity and reserves of €810m, an increase from €412m at the end of 2012, while its cash balances increased to €4.4bn at the end of 2013.

Elsewhere, the report said the agency's asset sales to date had reached €14.1bn, with €1.4bn advances approved for projects in Ireland, of which €770m has been drawn down. It added that total funding of €2.5bn will be made available for investment in Ireland up to the end of 2016.

When it comes to credit decisions, there have been a total of 46,700 processed to date, with an average turnaround time of less than five days. There was €373m provided in vendor finance, with 684 residential properties delivered for social housing and 400 more expected in 2014. The report added that an additional 900 could also be delivered in 2015/2016.

Addressing the findings, Chief Executive at NAMA, Brendan McDonagh, said: "NAMA's very strong performance and excellent cash generation means we are now well ahead of schedule in getting our job done successfully.

"We reported a profit for taxpayers for the third year in a row and successfully met our first major milestone of repaying €7.5 billion of NAMA's debt in full and on time.

"We have benefited from very strong demand for the assets in our portfolio and from the exceptional dedication of our staff who work diligently and professionally on taxpayers' behalf."

Frank Daly, Chairman, added: "2013 saw a remarkable turnaround in investor sentiment towards Ireland and NAMA took full advantage of the opportunities this presented.

"We are beating our targets and it is becoming increasingly likely that NAMA will achieve its objectives sooner than anyone would have expected when it was set up in late December 2009.

"This is very important for taxpayers. If our current strong momentum continues and conditions remain favourable over the next number of years, NAMA can deliver on a number of fronts for the Irish economy."

(JP)