UPDATE 1-Banco do Brasil profits jump by more than half in fourth quarter

(Recasts with forecasts, adds more details on earnings) SAO PAULO, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Brazilian state-controlled lender Banco do Brasil SA said on Monday it expects further profit growth this year, after posting a better-than-expected 52.4% surge in fourth quarter profits largely due to higher earnings on loans. Banco do Brasil's adjusted net income reached 9.04 billion reais ($1.75 billion) during the final three months of last year, while analysts expected around 8.07 billion reais, according to a Refinitiv poll. The bank said it should reach adjusted profit of between 33 billion reais and 37 billion reais for 2023, compared to 31.8 billion last year. Its loan book is expected to grow by about 8%-12% this year compared to the 17% annual increase it recorded in 2022. The lender also said it plans to set aside between 19 billion reais and 23 billion reais to cover bad loans, after reporting provisions of 16.7 billion reais last year.

During the October-to-December period, Banco do Brasil held loan-loss provisions of 6.53 billion reais, with 788 million reais likely related to the bankruptcy of retailer Americanas SA . The result was impacted by an event "in the large corporate segment that filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2023," said the lender, without naming the retailer, but added it had provisioned for 50% of its exposure to the firm. Last week, most listed Brazilian banks had to make extra provisions due to potential losses resulting from "accounting inconsistencies" unveiled by the retailer, which led it to seek protection from its creditors. ($1 = 5.1596 reais) (Reporting by Peter Frontini; Editing by David Alire Garcia)