MADRID: Spain's Bankia on Thursday said it booked a net profit of 50 million euros ($60.5 million) in the fourth-quarter compared to a loss in the same period of 2019 thanks to a gradual recovery of lending after COVID-19 restrictions in previous quarters.

Analysts polled by Reuters expected Bankia, which is being taken over by rival Caixabank, to report a net profit of 29 million euros. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the lender had booked a loss 34 million euros.

Overall, the bank's 2020 net profit fell 57.6% to 230 million euros from the previous year on higher loan loss provisions set aside to offset the potential impact of the coronavirus crisis on its business. Analysts expected a full-year net profit of 206 million euros.

The state-owned lender set aside 505 million euros in 2020, including 40 million euros in the last quarter, to protect its books against the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.