SYDNEY, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Australia's banking giant Westpac has posted a flat full-year cash earnings of 7.822 billion Australian dollars (6 billion U.S. dollar) in line with last year's results and market's expectation.
In a statement on Monday, Westpac said that its statutory profit for the 12 months to September 30 fell by seven percent to 7.445 billion Australian dollars (5.68 billion U.S. dollars) on higher impairment charges.
Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer said the groups' results were commendable despite performing in a rather challenging environment.
"... We have strengthened our balance sheet, carefully managed margins, and achieved 263 million Australian dollars (201 million U.S. dollars) in productivity savings, while increasing our investment in digital and other service initiatives."
"Given the current operating environment, including the expectation that low interest rates will continue for some time, the evolving regulations for capital and liquidity, and higher regulatory and compliance costs, the current 15 percent ROE (return on equity) target for the Group as a whole is no longer realistic."
"Westpac believes in maintaining strong return disciplines and will be seeking to achieve a ROE in the range of 13 percent to 14 percent in the medium term," he said.
On the bank's outlook, Hartzer said the bank's Australian arm remains positive overall, with GDP (gross domestic product) expected to rise by around 3 percent in 2017.
"This growth reflects an expected rise in household spending, ongoing contributions from exports, and continuing government investment in infrastructure," Hartzer said.
"However, growth in WA (Western Australia) and Queensland, which rely more heavily on resources, will continue to be below trend," he said.
The bank has declared a fully franked final dividend of 94 cents (72.10 U.S. cents) per share which was unchanged from the 2015 final dividend.
CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner told Xinhua that Westpac posted a solid result that was generally in line with market's expectation.
"Australian banks have a relatively difficult environment so overall cash earnings were basically in line," Spooner said.
"There was a good performance by the bank's (Westpac's) consumer division which saw an increase in the number of customers in a tough environment," he added.
At 1610 local time (AEDT) on Monday, Westpac shares rose 2.66 percent at 30.50 Australian dollars (23.41 U.S. dollars).
With 199 years' experience, westpac is Australia's first bank and first company.
