One of the Australian ‘Big Four’ banks, Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC), declared its FY22 results on the ASX on Monday (7 November 2022).

Meanwhile, Westpac’s shares were trading 1.573% higher on the ASX, at AU$23.555 per share, at 12:05 PM AEDT today (8 November 2022).

Details of Westpac’s FY22 results 

The key highlights of Westpac’s financial performance in FY22 are as follows:

• Westpac delivered a statutory net profit of AU$5,694 million in FY22, up by 4% compared with the previous corresponding period (FY21).  
• Westpac’s dividend in 2022 was AU$1.25 per share, up by 6% from the previous financial year.  
• The bank’s CET capital ratio stood at 11.3% in the same period.
• On the other hand, Westpac’s cash earnings came down to AU$5,276 million, down by 1% from FY21.  
• Westpac’s cash earnings per share in FY22 was 148 Australian cents, up by 1% from FY21.  
• Westpac also said that all its banking divisions had grown core earnings in H2 FY22.
• The bank experienced higher growth in mortgages and business lending in FY22.
• The bank’s credit quality improved in FY22, with stressed assets as a part of total committed exposures falling from 1.36% to 1.07% over the financial year.

Westpac’s outlook for FY23 

The board of Westpac believes that 2022 has been quite a challenging year for the bank in terms of geopolitics and economy. The bank had to face high rates of inflation and hikes in interest rates throughout the financial year. Furthermore, natural disasters and geopolitical issues have added to the causes of high inflation in Australia.

Considering the above-mentioned factors, Westpac said that it is not yet seeing chances of increased hardship or stressed assets in the upcoming financial year.

Westpac also said that many of its customers had enough savings during the last two years, and 68% remained ahead on their mortgage repayments.