ANZ Group, Australia's fourth-largest lender by market capitalisation, announced a 31% rise in full-year cash profit on Monday, reporting A$7.59 billion for the year ended September 30. That outcome matched closely with a Visible Alpha consensus of A$7.55 billion and compared with A$5.79 billion a year earlier.
Company management attributed the improvement to active management of margins, capital and costs, together with business growth across its operations.
Costs and operating performance
Operating expenses fell 14% in fiscal 2026. The bank said the reduction was driven by lower restructuring expenses and the absence this year of an Australian Securities and Investments Commission settlement amount that had affected the prior period.
Retail division strength
The Australia Retail division delivered a marked improvement in annual cash profit, rising to A$1.71 billion from A$771 million in the previous year. Management noted that higher home loan volumes supported the rise in profitability.
Net loans and advances for the Australia Retail division were A$280 billion at the September 30 year end, up from A$269 billion a year earlier.
Margin and capital metrics
ANZ's net interest margin, a central profitability metric for banks, edged down to 1.53%. The bank said the slight compression was driven by competition across most divisions and the timing of the Reserve Bank of Australia rate changes.
Last week the Reserve Bank of Australia increased its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.85% in a 6-3 vote; the bank noted this was the highest level since December 2008.
ANZ's common equity tier 1 ratio, a regulatory measure of capital adequacy and spare cash, slipped to 12.0% as of the financial year-end.
Shareholder returns
The lender declared a final dividend of 83 Australian cents per share, matching the prior year's payout.
The results reflect a combination of disciplined cost management, stronger retail lending activity and the influence of competitive and policy-driven changes in interest rate timing on margins.