Westpac Banking FY17 Profit Rises; Says Confident About Outlook

(RTTNews) - Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC.AX, WBK) reported Monday that its fiscal 2017 net profit attributable to owners of the company increased 7 percent to A$7.99 billion from last year's A$7.45 billion.

Earnings per ordinary share improved 6 percent to 238.0 cents from 224.6 cents a year ago.

Cash earnings, the company's preferred measure of earnings, were A$8.06 billion, up 3 percent and cash earnings per share were 239.7 cents, up 2 percent.

According to the firm, the rise in cash earnings was supported by good growth in both lending and deposits, and a 24 percent reduction in impairment charges.

Net interest income was 2 percent higher over the year to A$15.52 billion, with total loan growth of 3 percent, primarily from Australian housing which grew 6 percent. Reported net interest margin decreased 4 basis points to 2.06 percent mainly from higher funding costs.

Non-interest income was up 8 percent.

Further, the company announced a final dividend of 94 cents per ordinary share, which represents a payout ratio of 79 percent and a dividend yield of 5.9 percent. This dividend will be paid on December 22 to shareholders on the register at the record date of November 14.

Westpac Group CEO Brian Hartzer said, "This is another solid result. We have continued to successfully navigate a challenging environment while our strategy builds momentum."

Looking ahead, the company said it is confident about its outlook and its ability to outperform over the long term.

Hartzer said the outlook for Australia remains positive overall, with GDP expected to grow by 2.5 percent by the end of 2018. However, the growth outlook will remain mixed across the country.