Macquarie posts improved result
Macquarie Group has announced a 17 per cent increase in net profit of $851 million for the full-year ended 31 March.
Announcing the result to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today, Macquarie Group managing director and chief executive Nicholas Moore said it reflected a general improvement in global market conditions together with strong cost controls across the group.
Moore said the board had resolved to pay a final ordinary dividend of $1.25 per ordinary share.
However, he said client activity remained subdued for Macquarie's capital markets-facing businesses and affected the performance of some groups.
Dealing with group performance, the Macquarie ASX announcement pointed to a solid contribution from its banking and financial services group, with a 22 per cent increase in net profit of $355 million.
It said the group had continued to grow its Australian wrap platform, with funds under administration increasing 14 per cent to $25.1 billion, while the migration of Perpetual's $7.6 billion private wealth administration platform was to be completed post the balance date.
The ASX announcement acknowledged that Macquarie Private Wealth had in January entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). It said the company was "committed to implementing the changes necessary to improve its compliance processes and systems".
Commenting on the outlook for Macquarie, Moore said the group remained well-positioned, with a strong and diverse global platform and specialist skills across a range of products and asset classes.
He said that while market volatility made forecasting difficult, it was currently expected — subject to market conditions — that the 2014 financial year net profit contribution would be up on 2013.
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