National Australia Bank (NAB) has registered cash earnings of A$3.31bn for the first half ended 31 March 2016, up 6.5% compared to A$3.10bn a year ago.
On a statutory basis, the bank’s net loss attributable to the owners stood at $1.74bn, compared to a profit of A$3.44bn in the prior corresponding period.
The bank said that the loss was driven by loss from discontinued operations, especially demerger and IPO of CYBG, and a charge of $801m related to provisions for conduct costs pursuant to claims under the Conduct Indemnity Deed with CYBG.
The bank’s statutory net profit, excluding discontinued operations, was up by 2.4% year-on-year to $3.31bn.
The bank’s net operating income increased 3.3% to A$8.92bn from A$8.63bn during the same period the previous year.
Net interest income increased 6.2% to A$6.60bn from A$6.21bn in the prior year, while operating expenses rose 4.2% to A$3.83bn from A$3.67bn a year ago.
NAB Group CEO Andrew Thorburn said: "This is our first result squarely focused on our Australian and New Zealand business. It shows that delivering against our strategic priorities is producing results and laying the foundations for sustainable growth and returns. We have a clear plan and are executing it in a disciplined way.
"We are focused on getting the basics right and serving our customers better. A year after adopting the Net Promoter Score (NPS) we are seeing encouraging results. NAB has led the aggregate NPS outcomes of the major banks over the four months to March 2016 in our priority customer segments of mortgages, debt free, micro business, small business and medium business. But there is still more to do."
