Australia’s Macquarie sees higher profit in first half

BENGALURU: Macquarie Group, Australia’s biggest investment bank, said it expects firsthalf net profit to be higher than the same period last year due to better performance fees, sending its shares higher.

Releasing presentation notes for an investor conference yesterday, the Sydney-listed bank said the first-half results would be in line with the second half of the last financial year.

It did not change its outlook for the full year, saying that it expected net profit to match last year’s record of A$2.22bil (US$1.78bil).

Macquarie’s shares rose as much as 3.6% by mid-session yesterday, their biggest intraday percentage gain in four months, while the broader market was up 0.5%.

Macquarie makes money from sources as varied as buying toll roads, merger and acquisition advisory services, leasing aircraft and selling mortgages.

The A$29bil company is nicknamed the “millionaires factory” because of its reputation for boosting profit in unpredictable market conditions.

The company’s first-half result will compare with a net profit of A$1.05bil in the first half of the last financial year and an average analyst forecast of A$1.09bil from Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company reports

Oct 27. — Reuters first-half profit on