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- Commonwealth Bank shares have been on a rollercoaster journey over morning trade after the company released its September Quarterly Report
- Net profits were strong compared to the same time last year but were boosted by the sale of Commonwealth’s asset management business
- Cash profits, which exclude big one-off items, were down eight per cent on the same quarter last year
- Company CEO Matt Comyn said the company is doing well in the face of economic uncertainty and low interest rates
- Commonwealth shares are up 0.35 per cent at midday trade, worth $80.33 each
Commonwealth Bank is leaving the market with mixed emotions this morning after releasing its September Quarterly Report.
For the three months leading up to September 30, the banking giant’s unaudited net profit came in at $3.8 billion, which is a healthy number compared to last year’s $2.45 billion over the same period.
However, this year’s figure included the $1.5 billion pocketed by Commonwealth for selling off its Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM) — meaning without this sale, quarterly profits were slightly lower than last year at $2.3 billion.
This unaudited cash profit figure is a five per cent increase on the average of the previous two quarters, but down eight per cent on the $2.5 million recorded over the same period last year.
Company CEO Matt Comyn said global macro-economic uncertainty and historically low interest rates have put the bank in a challenging environment, but it is still performing well.
“Our strong capital position and balance sheet settings mean we are well placed to meet the needs of our customers, illustrated by good volume growth in our core markets of home lending, business lending and household deposits,” Matt said.
“In a low interest rate environment we will continue to maintain a disciplined approach that delivers balanced outcomes for all our stakeholders, including over 6 million savings customers, 1.6 million home loan customers and 800,000 retail shareholders, including many retirees, who rely on our dividend,” he added.
Commonwealth shares have been on a rollercoaster journey over morning trade, rising a healthy one per cent before a sudden drop to slightly in the red over the late morning.
Since then, shares have started another steady incline and are trading up 0.35 per cent at midday, worth $80.33 in a $142.38 billion market cap.
