It's due to falling interest income and higher charges for bad loans. The bank set aside £1.3 billion for bad loans in 2012, roughly unchanged on the previous year.
Chief Executive Jim Brown says Ulster Bank is making good progress on the restructuring of the business, as the economic environment in Ireland begins to stabilise.
Our Business Editor Ian Guider says Ulster Bank has given details on the compensation paid out to customers affected by the technical glitch last year:
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