Portugal BES Q1 profit up 18 pct, beats forecast

LISBON, May 3 (Reuters) - Portugal's second-largest listed bank, Banco Espirito Santo, posted on Monday a nearly 18 percent rise in first-quarter net profit, exceeding market consensus, helped by growth in overseas operations and trading.

Net profit rose to 119.1 million euros ($158.6 million), the bank said in a statement, even as net interest income fell 19.5 percent from a year earlier to 253.7 million euros.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had predicted, on average, a net profit of 89 million euros and net interest income of 256 million euros.

(Reporting by Sergio Goncalves and Andrei Khalip) ($1=.7508 Euro) Keywords: BES/RESULTS ([e-mail]; (351) 213-509-209; RM: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.