Christmas has come early for the bank’s shareholders with the decision to slightly increase the 2024 dividend – despite a single-digit decline in the net profit and cash earnings.
Beating the market benchmark is never easy, with 72 per cent of Australian actively managed global equity general funds trailing the S&P World Index in the six months to June 30, 2024. Domestic equity funds performed slightly better, albeit against a significantly lower bar set by the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
ASX closes 0.6% higher; Westpac drops 7.4%
ASX starts November with a bang, Westpac tanks but delivers buy back
The S&P/ASX200 (ASX: XJO) started the month of November on a positive note, gaining 0.6% as a bout of confidence swept global markets.
Every sector finished higher barring financials, which fell 0.5% after Westpac (ASX: WBC) delivered a weaker than expected result.
The highlights were in the communications sector, which gained 2.3% and retailers also gaining 1.8%.
All eyes were on Westpac which fell by more than 7% after delivering a weaker than expected profit result on the back of a significant increase in expenses.
The company reported a doubling of cash profit compared to 2020 levels, hitting $5.4 billion, however it was news that earnings had fallen by 50% in the second half and expenses were 22% higher that concerned investors.
The net interest margin continued to contract but management managed to double their dividend to 60 cents per share from 31 cents in 2020 and joined the buyback party, announcing a $3.5 billion offer for eligible investors.
AusNet set to be sold, Seven finally gets Prime, Lend Lease sale settles
Seven West Media (ASX: SWM) shares gained over 14%, leading the market, after the company announced they had agreed to acquire smaller market competitor Prime Media (ASX: PRT) for $121.9 million.
The deal sent shares in Prime 74% higher, with Seven set to become Australia’s leading commercial broadcast, video and news network, boasting the ability to reach 90% of the population.
AusNet (ASX: AST) is now all but sold, with management agreeing to a sweetened offer from Brookfield, which was increased to $10.2 billion.
The consortium which includes Sunsuper along with a series of Canadian pension funds will pay $2.65 per share along with penalties if the deal is not completed by March next year; shares finished 3.6% higher.
All eyes are the RBA ahead of tomorrow’s meeting with experts predicting they give up on yield curve control and flag an earlier than expected hike in rates.
Westpac’s weak result came as another fintech competitor, Judo Bank, listed on the ASX, gaining over 7% in the first day of trade.
US markets edge higher, India joins net zero, Dow hits 36,000 points
Global markets rallied after the best October in six years, with broad-based gains coming after another strong earnings season.
On Monday, ahead of the Fed’s next meeting, the Nasdaq led the way gaining 0.6%, following by the Dow Jones and S&P 500 which both gained 0.2%.
Earnings season is set to kick up another gear this week with close to one third of S&P 500 businesses set to deliver an earnings update which will ultimately set the tone for the rest of the year.
Shares in Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) gained less than 1% despite news that the Chinese authorities had locked down Shanghai Disney to test some 35,000 visitors in a single day.
Chinese lithium producer Ganfeng (HKG: 002460) is set to rally after Tesla (NYSE: TSLA) a significant lithium supply deal with the group.
More positive news sent the materials and energy sectors higher, with the repeal of the US-China steel tariffs finally occurring over the weekend and OPEC+ showing little interest in cutting production to send oil prices lower.
