NAB 1Q Profit Rises on Lending, Deposit Growth

   By Alice Uribe

SYDNEY-- National Australia Bank Ltd. reported that profit in its fiscal first quarter was higher than the same time a year earlier, driven by lending and deposit growth.

NAB, one of Australia's major banks, recorded an unaudited net profit of 2.05 billion Australian dollars (US$1.42 billion) in the December quarter. No comparable figure was disclosed, but it compares with an unaudited profit of A$1.80 billion reported by the bank in last year's first quarter.

Unaudited cash earnings, a measure of profit adjusted for fair value and hedging movements and is the basis for calculating dividend payouts, was A$2.15 billion for the quarter.

The bank said first-quarter revenue grew by 15% when compared with the average of the prior two quarters, partly reflecting higher margins and volume growth,

"The higher interest rate environment, resulting from central bank actions to curb inflation, has benefited our revenue this period. But this is also causing economic growth and house prices to soften, and loan repayments to increase," NAB Chief Executive Ross McEwan said.

The lender's net interest margin, a measure of the difference between what a bank pays to get customer deposits and funds, rose 12 basis points to 1.79% when compared with the average of the prior two quarters.

Write to Alice Uribe at alice.uribe@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 15, 2023 16:39 ET (21:39 GMT)

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