Chairman’s Message 1H23

ANZ Group Holdings Limited ABN 16 659 510 791


30 June 2023

Market Announcements Office
ASX Limited
Level 4
20 Bridge Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000






Chairman’s Message 1H23


The attached Chairman’s Message for 1H23 is being made available to ANZ shareholders
in conjunction with the despatch of the 2023 Interim Dividend Statements. It has been
approved for distribution by ANZ’s Company Secretary.

Yours faithfully




Simon Pordage
Company Secretary
ANZ Group Holdings Limited









Corporate Governance
ANZ Centre Melbourne, Level 9, 833 Collins Street, Docklands Vic 3008
GPO Box 254, MELBOURNE VIC 3001 AUSTRALIA
www.anz.com

The Board is pleased with the strong financial and strategic
outcomes across the business.
The positive result is the outcome of our strategy to
simplify, reshape and de-risk the business in recent years.
ANZ has sold more than 30 non-core businesses in the
past seven years and has replaced all of the foregone
revenue from those disposals with better quality income.
It also reflects a strong focus on operational performance
and customer experience across all our divisions.
This was the first result reported under our new
Non-Operating Holding Company structure which will
provide ANZ with greater flexibility and potential to create
additional value over time.
In Australia Retail we maintained momentum in home
lending, while the successful roll out of our new digital
banking platform ANZ Plus continued with more than
$6 billion in deposits at the start of May, bringing in tens
of thousands of new customers to ANZ.
Institutional posted a record half-year result, producing
strong returns across the Division with payments and
currency processing, particularly for other financial
institutions, leading the way. The performance of the
international business was notable, contributing more
than 60% of revenue growth.
The Commercial business is now operating as a
stand-alone division. Revenue was up in the half,
generating the highest return on equity of our divisions,
driven by disciplined margin management and a strong
deposit base.
In New Zealand, we also completed the single largest
regulatory program in our history, BS11 – a hugely
complex program involving thousands of staff and more
than five years of work – while our team also worked to
support communities affected by the flooding in Auckland
and Cyclone Gabrielle.
From a credit quality perspective, your bank remains in
a strong position. The balance sheet is one of the best
capitalised in the world and ANZ was among the first
banks to successfully access global funding markets after
the recent period of instability.
And our portfolio of businesses continues to evolve. During
the half we progressed the regulatory applications to
acquire Suncorp Bank and took further steps to strengthen
our ecosystem strategy, including by growing Cashrewards
and investing in View Media Group.
There are some challenging times ahead. We are seeing
intense competition in retail banking in Australia and
New Zealand. Sustained higher inflation and interest rates
will create difficult conditions for some households and
businesses across the economy.
Thankfully the number of ANZ customers in difficulty
remains low for now. Nonetheless, the Board, in line
with accepted accounting policy, has seen it appropriate
to set aside $4 billion in collective provisions – over and
above our record level of capital – to protect our balance
sheet and shareholders’ interests should the economy
deteriorate.
The management team has built a business with
geographic diversification, a robust capital position and
a strong and diverse deposit base. As a result, ANZ
stands ready to help our customers in these potentially
challenging times.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the strong contribution
by our people across the ANZ network. The ANZ teams’
unrivalled commitment to our culture, our customers, our
shareholders and the broader community is our best asset.
Regards
PAUL O’SULLIVAN
CHAIRMAN
296965_35_V2
2023 HALF YEAR HIGHLIGHTS
12% 7 cents 7%
$3,821 million
CASH PROFIT
1
(Continuing operations)
81 cents
DIVIDEND PER SHARE
128 cents
CASH EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE
(Continuing operations)
2H22 $3,402 million2H22 74 cents2H22 119 cents
1
Cash profit excludes non-core items included in statutory profit and is provided to assist readers in understanding the result of the core business
activities of the Group.
The non-core items are calculated consistently period on period so as not to discriminate between positive and negative adjustments, and comprise
economic hedging and similar accounting items that represent timing differences that will reverse through earnings in the future.
The net after tax adjustment was an increase to statutory profit of $274 million (all attributable to continuing operations) made up of several
items. Refer pages 71 to 73 of the Results Announcement for further details.
A message from ANZ’s Chairman
Paul O’Sullivan
ANZ reported a strong result for the half year ended 31 March 2023, delivering record
revenues and cash profit for our shareholders. All four businesses – Australia Retail,
Australia Commercial, New Zealand and Institutional – performed strongly for our customers.
Our Statutory Profit after tax for the half year was $3,547 million, down 1% on the
previous half.
Cash profit (from continuing operations) was $3,821 million, up 12% on the previous half.
ANZ’s Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio was strong at 13.2% and Cash Return on Equity was 11.4%.
The Interim Dividend of 81 cents per share amounts to approximately $2.4 billion being paid
to you, our shareholders. It is fully franked for Australian investors and carries full imputation
for New Zealand shareholders.