Westpac Banking H1 Profit Rises

(RTTNews) - Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC.AX, WBK) reported that net profit attributable to owners of Westpac Banking for the first half rose to A$3.907 billion or 113.7 cents per share, from A$3.701 billion or 109.2 cents per share in the previous year.

Excluding items, cash earnings were A$4.02 billion or 119.8 cents per share, compared to A$3.904 billion or 118.2 cents per share in the previous year.

For the half year ended March 31, net interest income improved 2 percent to A$7.61 billion from A$7.48 billion in the previous year, with total loan growth of 4%, primarily from Australian housing which grew 6%.

Non-interest income was A$3.156 billion, up 5 percent from A$2.996 billion last year, primarily due to an increase in markets related income which was partially offset by lower insurance income.

The Westpac Group Board has determined an unchanged interim, fully franked dividend of 94 cents per share to be paid on 4 July 2017. The interim ordinary dividend represents a payout ratio of 79% of cash earnings. The dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) continues to apply with a 1.5% discount to the market price.

"We remain positive about the Australian housing market, although we expect price growth to moderate through 2017," Westpac's chief executive Brian Hartzer said in a statement.

On the state of the housing market, he said 90-plus day delinquencies remained low by historical standards and the bank's home loan book continued to perform well, with more than 70 per cent of customers ahead on their mortgage repayments.

Mr Hartzer said economic growth will remain mixed across the country but the outlook for Australia "remains positive overall". GDP growth is expected to be slightly above trend at 3 per cent in 2017 with global growth is expected to consolidate around 3.5% despite growth in China slowing a little, policy uncertainties in the US, and ongoing weakening demand in Europe.