Australia’s Westpac sees $824 million hit in second half from unit sale
2:02 am Monday, October 24th, 2022
(Reuters) – Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp warned on Monday that its second-half reported net profit and cash earnings will be reduced by A$1.3 billion ($824 million) after tax, citing a loss on the sale of its life insurance business, among others.
Westpac, the country’s third-largest lender, said the one-off charge will have a net positive impact of 12 basis points (bps) on its common equity tier 1 capital ratio as the unit sale added 17 bps.
The bank said it expects the sale of its Australian life insurance business to Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Holdings announced in August last year to result in a loss of A$1.1 billion, with other expenses, writedowns and an increase in provisions further adding to the one-off charge.
Westpac is set to announce its fiscal 2022 results on Nov. 7. Rivals National Australia Bank and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group will report their annual results on Nov. 9 and Oct. 27, respectively.
($1 = 1.58 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
