Dutch Belgian financial services group Fortis said on Tuesday it has booked net profit of €808m in the first three months of 2008, a 31% drop on the year-earlier period.

The decrease is due to the continuing credit crisis, Fortis said in a statement.
ABN Amro’s Benelux activities, which Fortis took over last year, contributed €319m to the group’s earnings, but this was offset by a €380m charge relating to the turmoil on the financial markets.
Fortis also took a charge of €132m for the integration of ABN Amro and other investment-related changes.
‘These continue to be highly challenging times, as reflected by the further deterioration of financial markets in the second half of March 2008,’ Fortis CEO Jean-Paul Votron said in a statement.
‘While it is clear that the US economy is suffering, it is still uncertain how the crisis will impact other economies, which in turn could affect commercial activity. We believe that the environment will continue to be challenging for the foreseeable future,’ he said.
In the previous quarter, Fortis wrote off €1.5bn on subprime-related investments.