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Record profits for Australia's Commonwealth Bank

AFP, Sydney
Australia's biggest lender Commonwealth Bank sounded a cautious note about the country's economic outlook Wednesday even as it posted a record Aus$9.23 billion (US$7.08 billion) in annual profit.
The Commonwealth Bank's performance is closely watched for guidance on the health of the Australian economy in the current low interestrate environment.
CBA chief executive Ian Narev said the company remained positive about Australia's economic prospects but warned that the nation's nominal growth, which is not adjusted for inflation, needed to strengthen.
Reflecting softness on the income side of the economy, Australia's nominal GDP grew by 0.5 percent in January-March for an annual reading of 2.1 percent. It was far below real GDP of 1.1 percent in the quarter for a year-on-year figure of 3.1 percent.
"Income growth inside and outside Australia remains weak, so people are not feeling better off," Narev said in a statement.
"When combined with ongoing global economic and political uncertainty, this makes households and businesses cautious, and hesitant to respond to monetary stimulus."
Cash profit, the bank's preferred
measure of earnings that strips out one-off costs, rose three percent to Aus$9.45 billion for the year to June 30 compared to the previous 12 months, broadly matching analyst expectations.
Net profit was up two percent at Aus$9.23 billion while cash earnings for the six months to June 30 slipped three percent compared to the July-December period.
Earnings from its retail banking division — the largest in the bank — rose 11 percent to Aus$4.44 billion, while business and private banking grew by five percent for the period.
But CBA's bad debts jumped 27 percent, weighing on profits, on higher provisions for resource, commodity and dairy exposures.
The bank announced a final dividend of Aus$2.22 per share, leaving the final payout to shareholders at Aus$4.20, which was unchanged from the previous year.
Shares in CBA closed 1.29 percent lower at Aus$77.40.
"It's a strong, solid result, but there's not a lot in this result that would want to make me buy this company on open," IG Markets' strategist Chris Weston told AFP.
"The outlook that we've seen is fairly benign, there’s downside risks to Australian economics and Ian Narev said there's going to be more of the same coming through."