Macquarie Group appears to have returned to its glory days with a full-year result entailing a 27 per cent increase in net profit to $1,604 million, delivering a full year ordinary dividend of $3.30 per share.
Furthermore, the Group is forecasting a similar or slightly better performance in its new financial year.
Announcing the result to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today, Macquarie managing director and chief executive, Nicholas Moore, said the result represented a return on many years of investment across the business.
Moore also pointed to the fact that 70 per cent of the group’s total income was attributable to international income.
He noted that result reflected a significant increase to Macquarie’s operating income and profit, with five of the six operating groups delivering increased net profit contributions.
The chief executive made particular reference to the company’s annuity-style businesses, including Banking and Financial Service, which were up 29 per cent over the previous year.
The ASX announcement said the Banking and Financial Services division, which includes wealth management, delivered a net profit contribution of $285 million, up 10 per cent on the previous year.
It said Macquarie platform assets under administration increased by 19 per cent during the year to $48 billion, while Macquarie Life inforce risk premiums increased by 17 per cent to $223 million.
Discussing the outlook for the company, Moore said it was currently expected that the combined net profit contribution from operating groups for financial year 2016 would be broadly in line with financial year 2015.
“Macquarie remains well positioned to deliver superior performance in the medium term due to its deep expertise in major markets, strength in diversity and ability to adapt our portfolio mix to changing market conditions,” he said.
