BENGALURU (Nov 9): Australian lender ANZ Group reported a 31% rise in annual profit on Monday, driven by management of margins, capital and costs, as well as business growth.

ANZ, Australia's fourth-largest lender by market capitalisation, posted cash profit of A$7.59 billion (US$5.21 billion) for the year ended Sept 30, in line with a Visible Alpha consensus of A$7.55 billion and above last year's A$5.79 billion.

Operating expenses declined 14% in fiscal 2026 due to lower restructuring expenses and the absence of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission settlement amount.

The Australia Retail division's annual cash profit climbed to A$1.71 billion from A$771 million last year, lifted by higher home loan volumes.

Net loans and advances for the Australia Retail division stood at A$280 billion as at September end, up from A$269 billion last year.

Net interest margin, a key measure of profitability, slid marginally to 1.53%, hurt by competition across most divisions and the timing of Reserve Bank of Australia rate changes.

The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.85% last week, the highest since December 2008, in a 6-3 vote.

ANZ's common equity tier 1 ratio, a measure of spare cash, slipped to 12.0% as of the financial year-end.

It declared a final dividend of 83 Australian cents per share, matching last year's payout.

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