Aussie lender CBA’s annual cash profit dips 3% as competition dents margins
(Reuters) – Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTC:) said on Wednesday its annual cash profit slipped 3%, hurt by intense competition, rising costs and lower lending and deposit margins.
CBA, which writes around a quarter of the country’s mortgages, highlighted a growing trend of borrowers struggling to meet their payments due to the double whammy of sticky inflation and high interest rates, leading to delayed loan payments.
The bank’s net interest margin, a closely watched measure of difference between interest earned from loans and interest paid on deposits, fell 8 basis points to 1.99%.
The country’s biggest lender by market value said cash net profit after tax was A$9.84 billion ($6.52 billion) for the year ended June 30, compared with A$10.16 billion a year ago.
That compares with an LSEG estimate of A$9.68 billion.
The bank declared a final dividend of A$2.50 per share, compared with A$2.40 a year ago.
($1 = 1.5081 Australian dollars)
