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Westpac Reports First Annual Profit Decline as Cost Cuts Continue
Westpac's annual profit falls one per cent to $6.8 billion, its first annual decline, as cost cuts continue.
Key points
- Net profit fell one per cent to $6.8 billion in fiscal 2026, while net interest income rose one per cent to $19.7 billion.
- Westpac said last month it would cut about 250 jobs through voluntary and unplanned redundancies.
- The bank declared a final dividend of 77 cents, taking the total payout to shareholders for the year to $1.54.
Why it matters. Mr Miller said interest rates are likely to remain elevated into 2027, which bears on borrowers and the bank's lending outlook.
Westpac, Australia's second-biggest bank, reported a one per cent fall in annual profit to $6.8 billion for fiscal 2026. Net interest income rose one per cent to $19.7 billion, and chief executive Anthony Miller said the bank had helped more than 190,000 Australians buy homes. The Reserve Bank begins a two-day policy meeting that is widely expected to lift the cash rate by 0.25 per cent to 4.85 per cent.
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Westpac Reports First Annual Profit Decline as Cost Cuts Continue
Westpac, Australia's second-biggest bank, reported a 1 per cent fall in annual profit, with net profit dipping to $6.8 billion in fiscal 2026. It is the bank's first annual profit decline, and it came as chief executive pushes ahead with an ambitious cost-cutting project. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest paid, rose by 1 per cent to $19.7 billion. The result follows the recent loss of about 250 jobs at the bank. The bank cited an uncertain economic backdrop in announcing the figures.