Westpac Bank annual net profit jumps 12pc

SYDNEY, Nov 3 (BSS/AFP): Australian banking giant Westpac Monday posted a 12 per cent jump in full-year net profit to Aus$7.56 billion (US$6.60 billion), driven by growth in lending volumes and customer deposits.

The result in the 12 months to September 30 compared to Aus$6.82 billion the previous year, with chief executive Gail Kelly hailing it as "high quality" at a time of slower global growth.

Cash earnings-the measure more closely watched by analysts, which strips out volatile items-were up eight percent at Aus$7.63 billion, slightly above expectations.

The result follows a bumper annual net profit last week for ANZ Bank, up 15 per cent to Aus$7.3 billion, although National Australia Bank's yearly profit shrunk 1.1 percent to Aus$5.3 billion due to hefty UK writedowns.

With the nation's biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank, posting a 13 per cent jump in full-year net profit to a record Aus$8.63 billion in August, their collective profits soared to some Aus$28 billion for 2014, despite a slowing economy.

It makes Australia's banking sector one of the world's most successful, benefiting from falling bad debts and cost-cutting. IG Markets' chief strategist Chris Weston said Westpac was the standout.

"Cash earnings grew 8.0 percent and are very modestly above expectations, while we saw a sizeable improvement in return on equity, with its net interest margins beating forecast," he said.

"Gail Kelly was upbeat on the company's prospects. The one disappointment may be the slightly below-par final dividend, but all-in-all the asset quality is improving and you can see why Westpac is the best performing bank in the ASX 200." Revenue jumped seven percent on the previous year to Aus$19.94 billion.