Bank of Ireland PLC (IRE) said Tuesday that net profit slumped due to restructuring and impairment charges, the crash in the property market, and also announced the retirement of its governor.

The bank sees loan impairments rising to EUR6 billion from EUR4.5 billion in the three-years to March 2011, citing a change in the economic forecasts in Ireland where 50% of the credit risk on the bank's lending portfolio is based.

In Ireland, the impairment charge rose to 129 basis points versus 28 basis points last year. Of the increase in the charge to EUR708 million from EUR129 million, 10% relates to residential mortgages, 12% is consumer lending and 78% relates to property and construction.

The new Group Chief Executive Richie Boucher said that the bank faces "another difficult financial year" in the 12 months to March 31, 2010.

The bank posted a net profit of EUR59 million in the 12 months to March 31, 2009, down from a net profit of EUR1.68 billion a year earlier, while operating income fell 5% to EUR3.9 billion and underlying earnings-per-share fell 80% to 30.2 cents versus EPS of 150.3 cents last year.

It posted a pretax loss of EUR7 million versus a profit of EUR1.93 billion after several costs, including EUR304 million in impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets and EUR83 million in restructuring charges.

Before these charges, pretax profit fell 81% to EUR332 million from EUR1.79 billion last year.

In a move that was widely expected, the bank's Governor Richard Burrows announced his retirement from the Annual General Court in July 2009. "Accountability for these losses must be taken at the top," Burrows said in a statement.

Shares closed Monday up 6.7% at EUR1.08 on the Irish Stock Exchange. Analysts remain concerned over its loan losses. At that price it's capitalized at EUR1.1 billion. It has plummeted from EUR8.69 this time last year.

Company Web site: http://www.bankofireland.com

-By Quentin Fottrell, Dow Jones Newswires; 353-1-676-2189; quentin.fottrell@dowjones.com