ANZ announcement better than expected despite rise in bad debts
May 3, 2009 · Filed Under Uncategorized
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The ANZ delivered a better than expected profit announcement despite the provising for bad debts rising from $726 million last year to $1435 million.
The ANZ net profit fell 28% to $1.417 billion, down 28%. The underlying profit was up 20% on the preceding half to $1.908 billion.
In a bright spot the bank announced an increase of 11% in customer deposits ($22 billion) amid investors seeking the safety of the big banks. This is a trend that all banks are benefiting from in the current crisis.
Growth in the Asia Pacific region was strong with ANZ announcing an increase of 115% over the previous half through profits in Asia. New Zealand meanwhile was down 24% reflecting the terrible economic conditions being experienced in New Zealand.
The ANZ announced an interim dividend of 46c per share, down 28% on the 2008 interim dividend. The decision to cut the dividend is a wise choice in the current times to preserve capital at a time when accessing capital is still expensive.
Overall the ANZ announcement was strong and reflects an improving overall operation and CEO Mike Smith is stamping his mark on the bank. Smith is keen to transform ANZ into a super regional Asia Pacific focused bank and it would be silly to underestimate perhaps one of the best banking minds on the globe.
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