Sydney, Australia - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country's largest mortgage lender and biggest bank by market value, announced a 6% decline in its annual net profit. The bank's net profit for the 12 months ending in June stood at 10.09 billion Australian dollars (US$6.6 billion), compared to 10.77 billion Australian dollars from the previous year.
Despite the decrease in net profit, CBA's cash earnings, a widely-followed indicator that excludes certain factors such as hedging and losses or gains from acquisitions and asset sales, increased by 6% to reach 10.16 billion Australian dollars compared to the previous year.
In response to the financial results, CBA's directors approved a final dividend of A$2.40 per share, marking an increase from A$2.10 per share in the previous year. Additionally, the bank plans to initiate a new A$1 billion share buyback program in the upcoming fiscal year.
Moreover, CBA's Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio, a significant measure of a bank's resilience against financial shocks, recorded a rate of 12.2% for the fiscal year 2023, reflecting a growth of 10 basis points compared to the first half.
The consensus forecasts compiled by FactSet projected CBA's full-year profit at A$10.13 billion, close to the reported figure.
