Westpac posts solid result
Westpac has posted a solid first half result, announcing a statutory net profit of $3,609 million which it said was in line with the prior corresponding period.
Announcing the result in an announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) today, Westpac chief executive, Brian Hartzer, said the headline result had been impacted by derivative adjustments and a lower Treasury result.
However the announcement said more broadly that the operating businesses had continued to perform well, particularly the Group's retail and business banking divisions.
The bank announced an interim fully franked dividend of 93 cents per share, up three per cent.
The banks results showed that BT Financial Group had a mixed result with its platform business performing well but with advice fees down and with its general insurance division hit by claims resulting from weather events.
It noted that life insurance in-force premiums had increased by four per cent but that new life sales had been impacted by a decline in advice sales.
Hartzer noted the roll-out of the next pahse of the new BT Wealth platform "Panorama".
Looking over the horizon the Westpac CEO said he remained positive about the growth outlook for the Australian economy with low interest rates, a lower Australian dollar and support from the housing sector.
He pointed to competition within the banking sector remaining intense, including from new entrants, and said that in such an environment and amid considerable regulatory uncertainty, Westpac would continue to run its business in a way that provided headroom to manage volatility .
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