A smogasboard of interim reporting today pushed the ASX200 above the 5000-point mark for the first time since April 2010.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia posted a $3.66 billion half-year profit, up 1% on the same period last year. Morningstar head of banking research David Ellis called it a “cracker result” in his briefing notes.
“Australia’s largest bank continues to prosper due to better margins, higher trading income, a recovery in wealth management and productivity improvements,” Ellis wrote.
CBA chief Ian Narev says that while credit growth is slow, the global economy has improved.
“In each of the major areas of concern – European Union stability, US recovery and China’s on-going growth – developments have been positive overall,” Narev said.
“But if the current stability continues, we believe it will translate into a slow but steady rebuilding of consumer and business confidence in Australia. And that is our base case for the 2013 calendar year.”
CBA’s market already hefty capitalisation reached $108 billion today. It’s share price was trading up 2.5% at $67.16 at 1pm.
Pharma ceutical company CSL had another good start to the year, it’s net profit of $504 million up 25.4% on the year before. Last year CSL was the best performing stock in the ASX200, though it has trailed the broader index so far this year. Its CEO, Brian McNamee, will after 23 years in the role step down on July 1, meaning the next profit update is likely to be delivered by his successor, Paul Perreault.
Building materials company Boral had a net loss of $25.3 million for the first half of the year, down from a $153 million profit this time last year.
Another disappointment was Ansell, which announced a net profit of $55 million, down from $64.9 million (a 15% fall) last year. This is despite revenues rising 5.1% to $629.9 million. The company also launched a share buyback today.
Myriam Robin is a reporter for SmartCompany and its sister site LeadingCompany. She has degrees in economics, international studies and journalism. She likes writing about businesses taking risks and doing new things.
