MacquarieBankhas posted a $333 million after tax profit for the year to March 31, due to each division of the group increasing profit and market share and achieving a record or near-record result.
The bank’s total funds under management (FUM) climbed $11 billion to $52.3 billion on the back of sizeable increases in its specialist infrastructure and property funds.
The funds management group also recorded a marginal profit, but FUM in the division still grew by 13 per cent, climbing from $27.1 billion to $30.7 billion.
Macquarie says it bucked the trend of managers losing funds by increasing market share and maintaining its reputation as a key provider of unlisted funds invested in cash, fixed interest, currency and listed property, which it says each produced strong inflows.
The bank’s Financial Services Group recorded its first profit after breaking even during the year — much of it driven by the growth in the platform business with theMacquarie Wrap Solutionsproduct leaping up 62 per cent from $3.9 billion to $6.3 billion.
The huge profit, an increase of 33 per cent on last year’s profit of $250 million, has also been a win for shareholders, with Macquarie Bank chair David Clarke stating they will receive a fully franked final dividend of 52 cents per share for the year to March 31, 2003, and a special fully franked dividend of 50 cents per share.
