, Australia

Westpac full year profit up 84% to $6.5bln

A sharp decrease in impairment or bad loan charges drove the lender’s profit up.

Westpac has outshone its big four banking rivals, announcing full year net profits of $6.5 billion this morning, up a staggering 84 per cent on last year's result, with BT Financial Group one of its best performing business units.

Westpac's cash earnings per share for the year were $1.98, up 21 per cent on the '09 result. The company will pay a fully franked final dividend of 74 cents, bringing its full year distribution to $1.39 per share - a payout ratio of 71 per cent.

"We know the important contribution our shares, and particularly our dividends, make to the retirement savings of many Australians," chief executive Gail Kelly said.

The result was lifted by a sharp decrease in impairment or bad loan charges, which were almost halved, adding significantly to the company's bottom line.

BT Financial Group was one of the best performing divisions with cash earnings rising by 21 per cent to $595 million, about 10 per cent of the company's total cash earnings.

View the full story in Financial Standard.

Join Asian Banking & Finance community
Since you're here...

...there are many ways you can work with us to advertise your company and connect to your customers. Our team can help you dight and create an advertising campaign, in print and digital, on this website and in print magazine.

We can also organize a real life or digital event for you and find thought leader speakers as well as industry leaders, who could be your potential partners, to join the event. We also run some awards programmes which give you an opportunity to be recognized for your achievements during the year and you can join this as a participant or a sponsor.

Let us help you drive your business forward with a good partnership!

Exclusives

Financial crimes to continue to squeeze bank profits
More sophisticated crooks and stricter rules are expected to increase compliance costs.
Private fund tokens may be the future of investing
Kinexys seeks to keep a token’s sensitive financial information from prying eyes.
Asia struggles with G20 payment targets
The ultimate goal is for cross-border payments to achieve “the speed of the internet.”