ABN AMRO CHAIRMAN JAN KALFF HOLDS UP APPLE DURING A PRESS CONFERENCE IN AMSTERDAM, 1998-08-20...

ABN AMRO Chairman of the Board of Directors Jan Kalff holds up an apple during the presentation of the first half annual results in Amsterdam August 20. Dutch banking giant ABN AMRO said on Thursday its first half 1998 net profit soared 20 percent to 2.445 billion guilders, adding it was raising its financial targets to 12.5 percent net profit growth per year. The bank said it expected a continued increase in second half net profit versus the year-ago period, but it sounded a note of caution on the economic woes in both Asia and Russia, raising provisions by 400 million guilders to 892 million. FEE/GB