National Australia Bank Cash Profit Rises 6.5%
- First-half cash profit increases 6.5% to A$3.31 billion
- Net interest margin rises for the first time since 2011
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National Australia Bank Ltd. posted a 6.5 percent increase in first-half cash profit as it bucked a trend among Australia’s largest lenders by decreasing bad-debt charges and as margins improved for the first time since 2011.
Cash profit, which excludes one-time items, was A$3.31 billion ($2.5 billion) in the six months ended March 31, compared with A$3.1 billion a year earlier, the Melbourne-based lender said in a statement Thursday. Taking into account the spinoff of its U.K. business, the bank made a net loss of A$1.74 billion.