This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23691099

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Commonwealth Bank reports record annual profit Commonwealth Bank reports record annual profit
(about 4 hours later)
Australia's biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank, has reported its fourth year of record profits. Commonwealth Bank, Australia's biggest lender, has posted the highest ever profit for an Australian bank.
Net profit for the year to 30 June was $6.98bn (£4.5bn), up 8% on the previous year. It made a net profit of A$7.7bn ($7bn; £4.5bn) for the year to 30 June, up 8% from the previous year.
The bank has been boosted by growing deposits and a higher margin between the rate of interest earned on loans and the rate paid out to savers.The bank has been boosted by growing deposits and a higher margin between the rate of interest earned on loans and the rate paid out to savers.
Despite the record performance, the company's chief executive said business conditions had been mixed. Despite the record performance, the firm's chief executive, Ian Narev, said business conditions remained "mixed".
"Our primary areas of economic focus are the level of confidence of Australian business and households, the impact of economic conditions in China on the demand and price for resources, the value of the Australian dollar and the resultant impact on export-sensitive parts of the Australian economy and the stability of funding markets," chief executive Ian Narev said in a statement with the annual results. Mr Narev said the bank was keeping a close eye on the confidence level of Australian business and households as well as the impact of economic conditions in China on the demand and price for resources.
He said that indicators relating to those areas had been mixed over the past six months. He added that the value of the Australian dollar and the resulting impact on export-sensitive parts of the Australian economy and the stability of funding markets, were the other areas the bank was keeping a eye on.
Shares in Commonwealth Bank have risen almost 20% over the past year. "Indicators relating to all of these factors have been mixed over the past six months, and we expect that to remain the case in the near term," he said in the annual results statement.
"So overall, we believe that the underlying conditions for our business in the 2014 financial year will be similar to those we have experienced in the recently completed year."
The bank's shares opened higher on Wednesday on the Australian Securities Exchange, but then fell nearly 1% as investors looked to gain profits.
Commonwealth Bank shares have risen nearly 35% over the past year.