(Updates with more detail on results, dividend)
May 6 (Reuters) - Australia's Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) reported a 16% drop in its first-half net profit on Monday as intense lending competition and higher costs squeezed its margins.
It also announced an increase of A$1 billion ($660.90 million) to an existing share buyback program, taking it up to A$2.5 billion.
A rise in borrowing costs and increased competition for lending have prompted banks to cut rates on loans despite having to pay depositors more interest, squeezing their margins.
As a result, Westpac's net interest margin for the six months ended March 31 slipped to 1.89%, down 7 basis points from a year ago. Its net profit came in at A$3.34 billion, compared with A$4.00 billion a year earlier.
That slightly missed Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$3.43 billion compiled by UBS.
It declared an interim dividend of 75 Australian cents per share and a special dividend of 15 cents apiece.
($1 = 1.5131 Australian dollars)
(Updates with more detail on results, dividend) May 6 (Reuters)...
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Last
$33.82 |
Change
0.100(0.30%) |
Mkt cap ! $115.7B | |||
| Open | High | Low | Value | Volume |
| $33.45 | $33.91 | $33.45 | $143.6M | 4.249M |
Buyers (Bids)
| No. | Vol. | Price($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1200 | $33.81 |
Sellers (Offers)
| Price($) | Vol. | No. |
|---|---|---|
| $33.85 | 2990 | 2 |
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| Last trade - 16.10pm 31/07/2025 (20 minute delay) ? |
| WBC (ASX) Chart |