National Australia Bank Holds Dividend Despite 9.1% Annual Profit Drop
By Stuart Condie
SYDNEY--National Australia Bank held its final dividend despite reporting a 9.1% fall in annual profit amid higher credit impairment charges and software amortization charges.
NAB, which is Australia's second-largest lender by market capitalization, on Thursday reported a net profit for the 12 months through September of 6.14 billion Australian dollars, equivalent to US$4.28 billion. Net operating income rose by 5.8% to A$22.01 billion.
The average analyst forecast had been for a net profit of A$6.45 billion from operating income of A$22.08 billion, according to data compiled by Visible Alpha.
Cash earnings fell by 13% to A$6.14 billion. Stripping out the impact of A$1.35 billion in previously disclosed software amortization costs, cash earnings were flat at A$7.09 billion.
Analysts had been looking for cash earnings of A$6.34 billion, or A$7.24 billion excluding the notable items.
The Melbourne-based bank held its dividend at A$0.85 a share, as widely expected by analysts.
Credit impairment charges rose by 86% to A$1.55 billion, which NAB said included top-ups to forward-looking provisions that reflected more challenging economic conditions.
The Reserve Bank of Australia this week raised the cash rate for the fifth time in 2026, hiking it to an 18-year-high of 4.85% in an attempt to tame inflation.
Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 04, 2026 17:04 ET (22:04 GMT)
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