The group announced an after-tax statutory net profit of $352.3 million for the 2012/2013 financial year, up 80.7 per cent from the $295.0 million announced in the prior year.
However, the wealth profit before tax contribution declined from $45.9 million to $25.9 million.
In its full-year results released to the ASX, the group said the bottom line was “a solid result in difficult trading conditions with consumer confidence and demand for credit remaining low and competition for retail deposits remaining very high”.
However, wealth’s performance was impacted by “further run-off in the margin lending portfolio and the dividend foregone after the sale of the bank’s holding in IOOF.”
The decrease in net interest income was mainly due to the continued decrease in the margin lending portfolio, which contracted by $417.6 million for the year, Bendigo stated.
Pointing to opportunities for growth within the group, Bendigo said its network is relatively immature, with almost 100 of its more than 500 branches still less than five years old. “It is expected this investment will generate significant growth opportunities for us in years to come,” Bendigo stated.
Bendigo also said it planned to further develop its wealth proposition “with a specific emphasis on lifting our presence in the growing superannuation market”.
In his director’s message, group managing director Mike Hurst said the year was typified by soft demand for credit, heightened competition for retail deposits and fragile consumer confidence.
“Our strategy over the next three years is to build on the strong foundations established for the business since the onset of the global financial crisis and to capitalise on the many opportunities available to us,” he said.
Advances in technology add another layer of uncertainty to the banking market, introducing new ways of doing business and aggressive new entrants, he said. The bank is looking to increasingly engage with customers via social media and is developing a new online banking system, Mr Hurst added.
