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Business Description: Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC) is Australia's oldest banking and financial services group, with a significant banking franchise in Australia and NZ in retail, corporate and institutional sectors. Westpac has branches throughout Australia, New Zealand and the near Pacific region and maintains offices in key financial centres around the world including London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Strategy Analysis: Group strategy is anchored in the commitment to conservatively manage risk across all areas of business, following the near-death experience in the early 1990s. WBC’s customer-focused strategy aims to capture an increasing share of business from its Australian and New Zealand banking and wealth management customer base leveraging multi-brands. WBC established itself as an integrated financial services group in the early 2000s with the successful expansion into wealth management, acquiring Rothschild, BT Financial Services and Hastings. WBC diversified domestically by acquiring St George Bank in 2008, activating its regional banking strategy and providing access to a broader customer base and more exciting growth options. WBC’s strong operational discipline, quality assets and diversified funding base provide a good platform to leverage market share gains achieved in the midst of a global financial crisis. Credit market uncertainty stifled competition from smaller banks, foreign banks and non-bank lenders, allowing WBC to press its scale advantage over weaker competitors and capture market share. The acquisition of St George Bank increased scale and the re-launch of the Bank of Melbourne brand in July 2011 further strengthened the multi-brand approach.
Westpac Banking Corporation reported NPAT down 15% to $5.97bn for the year ended 30 September 2012. Statutory net profit was lower over the year principally as a result of a large one-off tax benefit from St.George tax consolidation. Revenues from ordinary activities were $17.98bn, up 6% from last year. Diluted EPS was 190.5 cents compared to 223.6 cents last year. The net operating cash inflow was $18.48bn compared to an outflow of $12.01bn in the pcp. The final dividend declared was 84 cents, taking the full year dividend to 166 cents compared with 156 cents last year. Looking ahead, the Company expects continued modest credit growth and strong saving levels. The Company reported volatility in global markets is likely to continue and as a result of the structural changes that are now occurring, both overseas and domestically, the operating environment will remain challenging.
The Age 22/05/2013 |
A piece of broker research came out last week that described the budget as a sensible one but an almost suicidal one for a government four months out from an election. Instead of trying to buy votes, it seemed intent instead on putting as many noses out of joint as it possibly could.
The Age 22/05/2013 |
In last week's budget, the government missed what will probably be its last opportunity to make the superannuation system fairer and more sustainable. While the government made some tough decisions, such as reneging on promised tax cuts, one of the fastest-growing expenses is the tax concessions for superannuation.
The Age 22/05/2013 |
Baby, forget the bonus. With tax concessions gone the federal government's budget could also affect your health, writes John Collett.
The Age 22/05/2013 |
Last week's budget was a bit of aho-hum affair on many levels related to superannuation, because most of the changes to the system had been announced back in April. The transfer of the Baby Bonus into an extra (reduced) payment for families eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part A, has drawn the light fairly and squarely on the costs of bearing and raising children. The recent debate about the opposition's Paid Parental Scheme versus the government's less-generous scheme has added fuel to the fire.
The Age 22/05/2013 |
Tradies caught out by the collapse of National Buildplan Group have called for a financial "rescue" package and an investigation into the failure of the company.
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