Australia's largest bank posts record annual profit of 7 bln USD

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Australia's largest bank posts record annual profit of 7 bln USD

(China Daily) 13:41, August 14, 2013

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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) posted a record annual profit of nearly 7.7 billion AU dollars (7.0 billion U.S. dollars) on Wednesday, saying it will reward its shareholders by paying higher dividends.

The largest bank in Australia said its net profit, which includes one-off and non-cash financial items, was 7,677 million AU dollars in the 2012-13 financial year, up 8 percent from the previous year.

CBA's cash profit for the year was 7,819 million AU dollars, an increase of 10 percent on the prior year.

The bank declared a final dividend of 2 AU dollars a share, taking its full-year dividend to 3.64 AU dollars.

CBA Chief Executive Officer Ian Narev said the result highlighted the benefits of a multi-year focus on improving the bank's productivity and customer service.

"Consistent execution of these long-term priorities, combined with our focus on productivity and continuing innovation, have delivered good financial returns for our shareholders," he said in a statement.

Narev said the bank expects business conditions to remain mixed in the near term.

"Our primary areas of economic focus are the level of confidence of Australian business and households, the impact of economic conditions in China on the demand and price for resources, the value of the Australian dollar and the resultant impact on export-sensitive parts of the Australian economy and the stability of funding markets," he said.

"Indicators relating to all of these factors have been mixed over the past six months, and we expect that to remain the case in the near term."

（Editor：WangLili、Chen Lidan）