Westpac

ANZ Bank – 218% profit increase ANZ shares were lower after delivering a slight “miss” on earnings. ANZ’s cash profit rose 218%, to $2.99 billion, which came in at below expectations, but the dividend was better-than-expected. Management declared a 70 cents-a-share dividend, up from 25 cents a year ago, and just below the pre-pandemic final…

With bank reporting season underway, it’s important to know what to look for when assessing the big banks. The days of looking solely at dividend payout ratio and price/earnings ratio are long gone. We live in a global world, with cross-border comparisons more important than ever. The first cab off the rank every year is…

It’s quarterly earnings season for a small handful of ASX-listed companies, but some might say the most important in the index. While most companies listed on the ASX report half-yearly with a June year-end, the second month after the financial period, being July and February tends to the busiest each year. However, a small group…

May is shaping up to be one of the most important months for dividend-focused Australian investors, with bank reporting season beginning on May 3, with Westpac’s interim result. The unexpected strength of the sector was brought to light this week after two of the three main ratings agencies upgraded their views on the sector, on…

ASX hits new high, value rotation continues, car sales spike The ASX200 finished another 0.6% higher on Wednesday, reaching the highest point since February last year but still some way off the all-time high of 7,199 points. Once again it was the energy and materials sectors boosting the market as a flood of more positive economic news…

Depending on what you read, you may be mistaken that investing for income in ASX-listed shares is well and truly over. Not so, suggests Scott Kelly, Portfolio Manager of the DNR Capital Australian Equities Income Fund. The Brisbane-based specialist Australian equity manager simply suggests investors need to focus on those with the potential to pay…

CBA has been a quiet investor in the BNPL industry since August 2019, when it made an initial investment of US$100 million into a private Swedish bank Klarna, which offers its own BNPL product. This investment was increased by another US$200 million in January 2020, with CBA taking its Klarna holding to 5%. Ostensibly, this…

Focusing on three sectors of Australian shares for direct purchases, sectors favoured by SMSF trustees and other individual investors, Morningstar offered its top picks at the annual Morningstar Investment Conference last week (October 8-9). Cognisant of market volatility, valuations, dividend policies and the importance of fundamentals in uncertain times, three Morningstar researchers – Johannes Faul,…

Commonwealth Bank executive Andrew Hall has joined the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) as its new chief executive. Hall was previously Commonwealth Bank’s executive general manager for corporate affairs for over seven years and before that was director of corporate and public affairs at Woolworths for over six years. Hall will take over from outgoing…

Westpac has announced a new specialist businesses division and has appointed Jason Yetton as chief executive of the division. The specialist business division has been created to simplify the Australian and New Zealand banking businesses. This will include wealth platforms, superannuation and retirement products, investment, general and life insurance, auto finance and Westpac Pacific. Yetton…