Chairman’s Message 1H24

ANZ Group Holdings Limited
9/833 Collins Street Docklands Victoria 3008 Australia
ABN 16 659 510 791


28 June 2024

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





Chairman’s Message 1H24


The attached Chairman’s Message for 1H24 is being made available to ANZ shareholders
in conjunction with the despatch of the 2024 Interim Dividend Statements.

It has been approved for distribution by ANZ’s Company Secretary.



Yours faithfully




Simon Pordage
Company Secretary
ANZ Group Holdings Limited

The Board also approved an on-market share buyback
of up to $2 billion – one of our largest ever capital
management exercises – reflecting our strong capital
position and the partial sale of our stake in Malaysia’s
AmBank.
We continued to protect and strengthen the balance
sheet. ANZ’s Common Equity Tier 1 Ratio was 13.5 per
cent and Cash Return on Equity excluding capital
retained to purchase Suncorp Bank was 10.7 per cent.
Our balance sheet places us among the best capitalised
banks in the world. Even allowing for the share buyback
and the potential Suncorp Bank acquisition, our capital
ratio is still about 11.8 per cent.
The bank continued to invest to pursue growth while
maintaining a disciplined approach to costs, unlocking
$200 million of savings during the half. The benefits of
ANZ’s diversification showed in the momentum across
all divisions.
In Australia Retail we continued to see strong home loan
volume growth with price discipline and returns above the
cost of capital. Customer deposits also rose 5 per cent.
We continued to invest in our new digital banking
platform ANZ Plus and it showed good progress, growing
to about 700,000 customers and $14 billion in deposits.
It is attracting on average 35,000 customers every
month, about half of which are new to ANZ.
Institutional grew revenue again and posted a record
return on equity domestically and internationally.
Customer revenues in Markets grew 30 per cent
half-on-half, with most growth coming from our
international network.
The pivot from lending to digital payments and currency
platforms has transformed the division’s performance
and positions us for long-term growth with sustainably
higher returns.
The Commercial business continued to deliver our highest
return on equity and about 19 per cent of group profit.
Business lending grew 7 per cent and deposits were up
3 per cent versus the prior year.
In New Zealand we maintained market leadership with
consistent performance across the business. Lending
rose 1 per cent and deposits grew 2 per cent despite
challenging conditions and we invested in the overhaul of
our core banking platform.
During the half, the Australian Competition Tribunal
authorised our proposed acquisition of Suncorp Bank and
legislation has been introduced in Queensland to allow it
to proceed. These are important milestones, however we
still have conditions to meet, including the passing of that
legislation and approval from the Federal Treasurer.
We’re almost two years into this process and while
taking longer than anticipated, we are using the time
productively and remain confident of the benefits.
While most in the community remain resilient, higher
interest rates, taxes, rent and expenses are hurting many
households and businesses. Subdued economic growth,
high inflation and geopolitical tensions mean interest rate
cuts may be some time off.
Still, the number of ANZ customers in financial difficulty
remains remarkably low and about 79 per cent of our
home loan customers remain ahead in their repayments.
Our strong financial performance with a diversified
portfolio of businesses, a robust capital position and a
growing deposit base means ANZ has never been better
placed to support any customers in need.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the many thousands
who come to work at ANZ every day. Their commitment
to helping our customers build a financially stronger
future is something your Board is proud of.
Regards
PAUL O’SULLIVAN
CHAIRMAN
306109_26_V4
2024 HALF YEAR HIGHLIGHTS
-1% 2 cents
2
-1%
$3,552 million
CASH PROFIT
1
(Continuing operations)
83 cents
DIVIDEND PER SHARE
118.3 cents
CASH EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE
(Continuing operations)
2H23 $3,584 million2H23 81 cents
2
2H23 119.5 cents
1
Cash Profit excludes non-core items included in Statutory Profit with the net after tax adjustment an increase to Statutory Profit of $145 million.
2
Excludes the additional dividend of 13 cents per share at 2H23.
A message from ANZ’s Chairman
Paul O’Sullivan
ANZ reported a strong result for the half year ended 31 March 2024, coming off a
record year in financial 2023. Our Statutory Profit after tax for the half year was
$3,407 million and our cash profit was $3,552 million.
The Interim Dividend of 83 cents per share, partially franked at 65 per cent, amounts
to about $2.5 billion being paid to you, our shareholders. The franking level reflects
the geographically diverse nature of our business, including the strong performance of
our non-Australian businesses where we do not generate franking credits.