Suncorp records 16.2 per cent profit increase
Suncorp appears to be quickly bedding down its merger with Promina, with the big Queensland-based group reporting a 16.2 per cent increase in net profit to $1.064 billion, inclusive of a 15-week contribution from Promina.
Wealth management continued to be a solid contributor to the group, reporting a 28.2 per cent increase in profit after tax and growing to $229 million when the Promina contribution was taken into account.
The group reported that bank profit before tax increased by 12.5 per cent to $569 million while general insurance profit before tax, including the Promina result had risen to $835 million, despite the Queen’s Birthday weekend storms in NSW.
Commenting on the result, Suncorp chairman John Story said it had been strong across the broad portfolio of businesses with further confirmation of the strategic rationale underpinning the merger with Promina.
“This result highlights the complementary nature of the Suncorp and Promina businesses, as well as the huge opportunities available to us by successfully integrating them,” he said.
Looking over the horizon, Suncorp chief executive John Mulcahy said forecast banking profit before tax and bad debts would increase by around 10 per cent, while underlying profit in wealth management, excluding investment returns on shareholder funds, would grow by greater than 10 per cent.
He said the group was reviewing its capital structures in the wake of the Promina merger in order to optimise its capital potential.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
In this week’s episode of Relative Return Insider, hosts Maja Garaca Djurdjevic and Keith Ford discuss a busy week of announcements from ASIC, with submissions to its public and private markets paper made (mostly) public.
In this week’s episode of Relative Return Insider, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver joins the show to unpack Australia’s underwhelming March quarter GDP figures and what they signal for the Reserve Bank’s next move.
The latest episode of Relative Return sees host Laura Dew chat with Brian Jones, founder of outsourcing company VA Platinum, on why choosing to outsource certain functions of your business can enable you to be efficient and productive.
In this episode of Relative Return Insider, hosts Maja Garaca Djurdjevic and Keith Ford are joined by Money Management editor Laura Dew to discuss learnings from JP Morgan’s recent conference in London, and what top fund managers and analysts see driving market behaviour.
