Commonwealth Bank of Australia delivered 18% increase in cash profit. Shareholders rewarded with record $1.49 final dividend, up 15% on prior comparative period.
Results and Outlook
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (“the Group”) reported its results for the 12 months ended 30 June 2007 on 15 August 2007. The Group reported an increase of 18% in cash net profit after income tax (“NPAT”) to $4,604 million. Cash return on equity increased from 21.3% to 22.1% while cash earnings per share (“EPS”) increased 16% to $3.53.
The Board declared a record final dividend of $1.49 per share, a 15% increase on last year’s final dividend. The final dividend, which is fully franked, will be paid on 5 October 2007. Total dividends for the year were $2.56 per share, an increase of 14%. Over the last three years dividends have grown at an annual compound rate of 12%.
We are very pleased with the progress we made in 2007. Operationally and financially we had a good year and we have momentum going into the new financial year. While we expect the financial services sector to remain competitive, we are well positioned to meet these challenges and expect to again deliver cash EPS growth which meets or exceeds the average of our peers through a continued focus on delivering exceptional customer service and profitable growth.
Strategic Priorities
Last year we identified four strategic priorities to lift business performance and growth – Customer Service, Business Banking, Technology and Operational Excellence, and Trust and Team Spirit. We made significant progress again this year and are very pleased with what has been achieved and the positive impact it is having. During the course of the year we introduced one additional strategic priority – Profitable Growth. We explain the progress made on the first four priorities and our philosophy behind the fifth priority on the Key Strategic Priorities page of this Review.
Board Appointments
The Board had another busy and successful year and we would like to thank all of the Directors for their contribution and dedication. We would particularly like to extend our appreciation to Warwick Kent and Frank Swan who will retire from the Board at our Annual General Meeting on 7 November 2007.
We would like to welcome two new Directors, Harrison Young and Sir John Anderson who joined the Board on 13 February 2007 and 12 March 2007 respectively. Brief resumes are available on the Board of Directors page of this Review.
Thank You
It has been an exciting year for the Group. We are pleased about the progress achieved on the five strategic priorities, particularly on customer service. The ability to deliver the strong performance over the past year would not have been possible without the goodwill and commitment of our people. We would like to recognise, congratulate and thank them all for their contribution to this very good result.
Finally we would like to thank our customers and shareholders for their confidence and continued support.
