The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s net profit after tax for the full year ended 30 June 2009 was $4,723 million, which represents a decrease of 1% on the prior year. Included in this result is the gain recognised on acquisition of Bankwest of $612 million after tax.
Net profit after tax for the full year was $4,415 million, which represents a decrease of 7% on the prior year. This result was impacted by an increase in impairment expense during the year.
The highlights of the results include: operating performance with operating income up 14% and cost growth contained to 4%; net interest income growth of 21% on the prior year; underlying net interest margin increased by eight basis points for the year; funds management income decline of 21% on the prior year, due to the adverse impact of the investment market downturn on funds under administration and timing of asset sales; continued improvements in productivity with group operating expense to operating income ratio improving 430 basis points to 44.6%; and higher loan provisioning levels, reflecting a cyclical deterioration in portfolio quality and the group’s prudent and conservative approach to provisioning.
Ralph Norris, CEO, The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said: “The Group has performed well in what has clearly been a demanding year for the global banking industry. A number of factors contributed to this good result including the strength of our banking franchise, our emphasis on maintaining high credit standards and our determination not to compromise our AA credit rating.”
