News: CBA UPDATE 1-Australia's Commonwealth Bank cuts dividend as profit falls 11%

(Adds performance metrics, CEO comment)

Aug 12 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) (CBA) on Wednesday cut its final dividend for the first time in more than a decade, as annual cash profit dropped 11.3%, narrowly missing analysts' estimates.

CBA's cash profit from continuing operations fell to A$7.30 billion ($5.21 billion) from A$8.22 billion last year, slightly below an average estimate of A$7.39 billion from four analysts polled by Reuters.

Still, the bank said it would pay a final dividend of A$0.98 per share, compared with A$2.31 last year, after Australia's financial watchdog in July withdrew a request for banks to freeze payments.

CBA's dividend payout ratio for the second half was 49.95%, in line with the regulator's order for banks to pay less than half their profit to shareholders for the rest of the year.

"We anticipate that lower credit growth and low interest rates will continue to put pressure on our revenue, requiring focus on performance, efficiency and capital allocation," Chief Executive Matt Comyn said in a statement.

CBA's revenue fell 2% in the second half, while expenses grew 9%.

Australian banks face a challenging several quarters, with interest rates at record lows, lockdowns hampering business and borrowers given extensions to pay back loans in light of the COVID-19 crisis.

Australia's unemployment is expected to hit 10% this year, raising the risk of defaults once loan holidays end and further clouding the country's economic recovery prospects.

CBA, which follows a different reporting calendar to its rivals, reported troublesome and impaired assets of A$8.71 billion at the end of June, up from A$8.1 billion three months earlier.

Its net interest margin - a key gauge of profitability - fell 2 basis points to 2.07%.

($1 = 1.4004 Australian dollars)