Australia's Westpac posts $1.6 bln first-quarter profit
Australian banking giant Westpac unveiled a first-quarter cash profit of Aus$1.5 billion (US$1.6 billion) on Thursday despite operating conditions deteriorating due to the European debt crisis.
The result compared to Aus$1.55 billion in the previous corresponding period. Westpac's net profit for the three months to December was Aus$1.4 billion.
The bank said the result reflected a more challenging operating environment, which contributed to a Aus$200 million decline in markets income which was only partially offset by asset sales and establishment fees.
"Operating conditions deteriorated in the December 2011 quarter with slowing global growth and an escalation in the European sovereign debt crisis leading to high market volatility and increased business and consumer caution," it said.
"More recently, events to shore up liquidity in Europe have assisted in improving market sentiment, although given the fundamental issues in that region, we remain cautious about the outlook."
Westpac recently announced plans to axe more than 400 positions and send as many as 150 more jobs offshore in a bid to offset higher funding costs.
Australian banks rely heavily on offshore debt markets to fund their loan books and Europe's woes are making those markets more expensive and harder to access.
