Sydney, Australia — Bendigo and Adelaide Bank announced an increase in its full-year net profit, as well as a rise in net interest margin. The bank attributed the positive results to a decrease in mortgage competition and growth in customer deposits.
For the 12 months through June, Bendigo reported a net profit of 497 million Australian dollars (US$322.9 million), up from A$488.1 million in the previous year. The bank noted that this figure includes one-off software intangible writedowns and restructuring costs.
Cash earnings, which is the measure analysts use to track the bank’s performance, increased by 15% to A$576.9 million. Bendigo credited its margin management, deposit growth, and focus on cost management for this positive outcome.
“We are pleased to see the success of our returns and execution strategies, particularly in competing in key lending markets, which has resulted in a return of lending growth over the last quarter,” said Chief Executive Marnie Baker. “Our customer base continues to expand.”
The bank also reported an increase in its net interest margin of 20 basis points to 1.94%, driven partly by deposit pricing. Bendigo’s Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio, a measure of its financial resilience, improved to 11.25%, up 157 basis points.
As a result of its strong performance, Bendigo’s directors declared a dividend of 32.0 Australian cents per share, compared to 26.5 Australian cents last year.
According to consensus forecasts compiled by FactSet, analysts projected Bendigo’s full-year net profit to be A$530 million.