ANZ Boss Says Households Remain Robust, Posts Record $7.4 Billion Cash Profit

Commuters walk past an ANZ Bank branch in Martin Place in Sydney, Australia, on June 7, 2022. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Major Australian bank ANZ has reported a $7.4 billion (US$4.7 billion) cash profit in full-year results up to the end of September 2023.

The company’s cash profit (pdf) grew by 14 percent compared to the previous year, while statutory profit after tax was flat at $7.1 billion.

ANZ was able to deliver a dividend per share of $1.75 for 2023, 20 percent higher than in 2022.

Revenue also lifted 13 percent on the 2022 results to $20.9 billion. Net interest income rose to nearly $16.6 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year. The net interest margin rose 7 basis points to 1.7 percent in 2023, up from 1.63 percent in 2022.

Average net loans and advances rose 6 percent as a result of “lending growth across all divisions” and the impact of foreign currency conversion. Cash and liquid assets also grew by 14 percent, due to greater reverse repurchase agreements, higher central bank balances, and bigger settlement balances owed to ANZ.

However, net interest income in the second half of the year was 5 percent lower than the first half.

Institutional Division Performs Well

ANZ’s high cash profit was largely driven by the institutional division of the business, which delivered a 53 percent boost in profit. New Zealand’s profit also jumped by 7 percent compared to the previous full year.

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Institutional payment platforms supported $164 trillion in transaction flows during the year, ANZ chief executive officer Shayne Elliot said (pdf).

In a video interview (pdf), the chief executive officer of the bank said this was a record result.

“So we are really proud of the fact that this is the highest revenue amount that ANZ has ever delivered and it’s the highest cash profit we’ve ever delivered,” Mr. Elliot said.

‘Pretty Robust’: Elliot

In a higher inflation world, including in Australia and New Zealand, Mr. Elliot noted the Reserve Bank and central banks have had to respond to increasing interest rates.

Mr. Elliot said this has had a “real impact” on ANZ customers. However, he said they were “pretty robust.”

“At the end of the day, as I said, our customers, and looking at ANZ’s data, have come into the situation and to this challenging period, with pretty good, a great starting point, so pretty robust. So, they’re actually muddling through pretty well,” he said.

Out of one million homeowners in Australia who bank with ANZ, Mr. Elliot said 2,000 are in hardship. He said it was dreadful for those 2,000 people and that ANZ would do everything they could to help them through, adding in the scheme of things, the number was relatively modest.

“And so that again speaks to the strength of the economy the fact that people have been able to work through,” he said.

An ANZ bank sign is seen on a building in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 30, 2023. (Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times)

Digital Platform

ANZ Plus, the bank’s digital banking service, became “one of the fastest growing digital banking platforms in Australia,” Mr. Elliot noted.

“The cost of operating ANZ Plus is materially lower than our existing retail business and we are seeing high levels of customer engagement and satisfaction,” he said.

In 2023, 68 percent of deposit accounts were opened digitally, up from 61 percent in 2022 and 31 percent in 2019.