GDANSK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Polish lender Alior Bank said on Wednesday it planned to earmark 570 million zlotys ($143.29 million) for its first-ever dividend payout, after its annual net profit nearly tripled.

"DPS (dividend per share) may reach 4.4 zlotys, which would imply a dividend yield of 5% (...) overall, we expect a positive market reaction", Erste Group analyst Lukasz Janczak said.

Alior Bank shares opened 1.1% higher at market opening, rising to 2.6% at 0803 GMT.

Alior has not paid a dividend since its market debut in late 2012, but it had previously said that it aimed "to be able" to pay dividends in 2023 and 2024.

Annual net profit, boosted by high net interest rates and lower provisions for expected credit losses, surged to 2.03 billion zlotys from 683.1 million in 2022.

The profits generated in the last year and high level of capital surplus underpin the first-ever dividend payout, Alior said in its earnings presentation.

The yearly costs of risk (CoR) dropped to 98 basis points (bps) from 151 bps in the previous year, after sale of non-performing loans, and dissolution of some provisions. The expected CoR is seen to settle at around 1% in 2024.

"In a scenario of stable interest rates, in 2024 and costs of risk at 1%, the bank's annual net profit could grow to about 2.2 billion zlotys," said Trigon analyst Maciej Marcinowski.

Alior said pressure from Poland's mortgage payment moratoria scheme had been dissipating, with total related costs of 500 million zlotys in 2022 and 2023.

However, the country's previous government proposed extending the scheme for 2024, introducing specific criteria, with the new government preparing the bill that could come into force from April 1.

Alior Bank estimated that the cost of an extension to the scheme would be around 200 million zlotys.

($1 = 3.9779 zlotys)

(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega; Editing by Rashmi Aich)