Macquarie's 1st Half Profit Falls, Announces A$2 Billion Buyback

By Alice Uribe

SYDNEY--Macquarie Group's first-half net profit fell by 39%, but the company said its strong capital position means it could soon begin buying back shares worth up to 2 billion Australian dollars (US$1.29 billion).

Macquarie, Australia's biggest investment bank and asset manager, said its net profit for the six months through September fell to 1.42 billion Australian dollars (US$910 million), from A$2.31 billion a year ago.

"Our annuity-style businesses saw growth in loan books, deposits and assets under management, but the first-half result was substantially down compared to a strong period of realizations in the prior corresponding period," said Chief Executive Shemara Wikramanayake. "Our markets-facing businesses delivered solid performances despite lower market activity and volatility level."

For the fiscal first half, Macquarie's annuity-style activities contributed A$1.3 billion to net profit, although this down 43% on a year earlier.

The company's annuity-style activities cover Macquarie Asset Management, Banking and Financial Services and certain businesses in Commodities and Global Markets. Markets-facing activities for the first half were down 32% on year at A$1.56 billion.

Markets-facing activities are undertaken by Macquarie Capital and most businesses in CGM.

Directors of the company declared an interim dividend of A$2.55 per share, compared with A$3.00 a year ago. That beat under consensus forecasts compiled by FactSet, which projected Macquarie's interim dividend would be A$2.42.

Macquarie, which has a reputation among analysts for conservative forecasts, didn't provide specific guidance.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 02, 2023 17:53 ET (21:53 GMT)

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