Macquarie Group Limited (ASX:MQG) has provided a cautious outlook for the year ahead, underpinned by what it calls particularly uncertain and volatile market conditions.
Australia's largest investment bank has blamed difficult trading conditions for an expected weaker result in the first half of fiscal 2012.
However, Macquarie has maintained its forecast for an improved full fiscal 2012 result, assuming market conditions do not deteriorate further.
In July Chairman Kevin McCann labelled market conditions as “exceptionally difficult”, and conceded that the group’s returns have dropped since the global financial crisis.
In the 2011 financial year Macquarie Group posted a net profit of $989 million.
