Macquarie Expects Rise in First-Half Profit

MELBOURNE, Australia--Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG.AU), Australia's biggest investment bank, flagged a rise in profit for the first half of the fiscal year on the back of stronger performance fees.

Macquarie said it continued to expect its net profit for the full-year will be broadly in line with the prior year, but the strength in fees meant its first-half profit was set to be up year-over-year and in line with the final six months of the previous fiscal year.

The bank reiterated its balance sheet was strong and conservative and it was seeing the ongoing benefits of continued cost cutting.

In the year through March, Macquarie recorded a 7.5% rise in profit to 2.22 billion Australian dollars (US$1.79 billion). For the first half of that year, profit was down 2% on-year at A$1.05 billion.

Macquarie, which began as a subsidiary of London merchant bank Hill Samuel & Co. and opened its first office in Sydney in 1970, has in recent years shifted toward more reliable asset-management, financing and commercial-banking operations to cushion volatility in investment banking and trading. These annuity-style operations now contribute the bulk of the bank's earnings.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 10, 2017 19:30 ET (23:30 GMT)