By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Macquarie raised its final dividend after a 5.5% rise in the Australian financial group's annual profit, driven by its asset-management and banking businesses.

Macquarie, known locally as The Millionaires' Factory, on Friday reported a net profit for the 12 months through March of 3.72 billion Australian dollars, or about US$2.40 billion.

It raised its final dividend to A$3.90 a share, from A$3.85 a year earlier.

The average analyst forecast was for a net profit of A$3.71 billion, or a 5.3% on-year rise, according to data compiled by Visible Alpha. The dividend was in line with analysts' expectations, but remains lower than the A$4.50 it declared two years ago.

Macquarie, which has a reputation among analysts for conservative forecasts, didn't provide specific guidance for its current fiscal year, which started April 1.

CEO Shemara Wikramanayake said only that the business's conservative settings helped position it to deliver superior medium-term performance.

Macquarie Asset Management's net profit contribution jumped 33% over the prior year to A$1.61 billion, helped by higher performance fees and the sale of a helicopter leasing business.

Banking and Financial Services delivered a net profit contribution of A$1.38 billion, up 11%. This came amid 9% on-year growth in home loans and 21% growth in deposits.

Macquarie Asset Management had A$941.0 billion in assets under management at March 31, barely changed compared with a year earlier. It raised A$18.0 billion in new equity from clients, and ploughed A$25.4 billion into 42 investments.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2025 18:46 ET (22:46 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.