Macquarie posts a record profit for full year

Macquarie - Full year profit of AUD 2.06bn ($1.52bn), up 29% YoY, beating expectations, adding that the next financial year is predicted to be "broadly in line" with the result. Earnings were boosted by a strong performance in its asset management and corporate and asset finance units.

Macquarie Group said its full-year profit rose 29 per cent to a record $2.06 billion, beating analysts' expectations, and said the next financial year will be "broadly in line" with the result.

Annual earnings were buoyed by a strong performance in its asset management and corporate and asset finance units over the period, which were offset by a softer result in the commodities and financial markets division, the Sydney-based company said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

The headline result compares with analyst estimates of $2.04 billion, and eclipses a previous annual profit high delivered in 2008 of $1.8 billion. Net operating income rose 9.4 per cent in the 12 months ended March 31 to $10.14 billion from $9.26 billion a year ago.

Chief executive Nicholas Moore had earlier issued earnings guidance pointing to a 2016 result that would be higher than last year's $1.6 billion. On Friday he said Macquarie remained a diverse business and that the record profit "highlighted the mix and quality" of the investment bank's business.