ANZ’s Q1 boom boosts shares to 22-month high

Australia’s ANZ Group reported on Monday that its first-quarter group revenue was in line with the quarterly average of the first half of financial year of 2023 revenue, buoyed by its institutional division’ markets business, which pushed the shares to their highest level in 22 months, according to Reuters.

The shares of the Melbourne-listed lender increased nearly 1 per cent to A$27.93, reaching their highest levels since April 21, 2022, contrasting with a 0.3 per cent drop in the broader benchmark.

Last year, Australia’s fourth-largest lender reported a record annual profit, thanks to a surge in demand for its institutional banking services and a payments platform that handles large cross-border transactions.

The company stated that the market business of its institutional division began the year well, with revenues slightly exceeding the first-half FY23 average of A$575 million ($374.73 million).

ANZ Group also reported robust lending growth in its Australian retail and consumer franchises, driven by customer deposits, which continue to enhance the profits of the Australian home loan book.

The group increased its customer deposits by A$8 billion across its retail and commercial divisions in Australia, despite a A$3 billion decrease in its institutional deposits.

The bank reported that its first-quarter revenue matched the quarterly average of A$5.26 billion from the first half of the previous fiscal year, according to a limited quarterly update that did not include a profit figure.

Citi analysts noted that the 1Q24 group revenue was on par with the 1H23 quarterly average and slightly better than their expectations.

They believe this will be seen as an in-line disclosure considering the share price rally and generally benign financials.

However, the bank’s common equity tier 1 ratio dropped to 13.1 per cent at the end of December 2023, down from 13.3 per cent at the end of September.