Westpac 1st Half Net Profit Rises 22%

   By Alice Uribe 
 

SYDNEY--Westpac said its first-half net profit rose by 22% on year, driven by a higher net interest margin, alongside growth in home and business loans and ongoing discipline around costs.

The Australian bank said its net profit totaled 4.00 billion Australian dollars (US$2.70 billion) in the six months through March.

Directors of the company declared an interim dividend of A$0.70 per share compared to A$0.61 last year. Consensus forecasts compiled by FactSet projected Westpac's first-half profit would be A$3.90 billion, with an interim dividend of A$0.69 a share.

Westpac's CET1 capital ratio of 12.3% was above the company's target range of 11.0-11.5%, while its net interest margin--the difference between the interest income generated and the amount of interest paid out--was 1.96%. The net interest margin was up 5% on the same time last year, but flat on the second half of the 2022 fiscal year.

Write to Alice Uribe at alice.uribe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 07, 2023 18:02 ET (22:02 GMT)

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