Westpac Banking Corporation
(ASX:WBC) has beaten forecasts to post a 30% rise in first half cash profit to almost $3 billion.
But the bank remains cautious about the ripple effects of the global financial crisis, warning that Europe’s debt woes will continue to drive up wholesale funding costs.
Westpac has been more aggressive than the other major banks in raising mortgage rates to help offset the more expensive wholesale funding and this showed in the group’s interest income, which grew 6%.
The bank reported a $2.98 billion profit for the six months to March 31, beating analysts’ expectations for a $2.8 billion result.
The result excludes one-off and non-cash accounting items.
Bad debt charges were almost halved, falling 45% to $879 million.
The bank’s board has raised its dividend by 16% to 65 cents a share.
For the 12 months to September 30, 2009, Westpac Banking Corporation reported a $3.446 billion profit.
