The New Zealand branch of ANZ bank said revenue growth and cost cutting helped to drive its underlying profit up by 17 per cent to $351 million in the December quarter, despite a subdued local economy.
ANZ National, New Zealand's biggest bank with market share of 28 to 33 per cent in most sectors, said the result compared with a $300 million net profit in the previous December quarter.
Chief executive David Hisco said the result was "workmanlike" and involved focus on cost management and eliminating duplicate processes.
ANZ's statutory net profit, which under accounting rules takes in "marked to market" gains on the value of its derivatives as if they had been cashed up during the period, was $414 million - up 60 per cent from the $260 million for the same quarter in 2010.
ANZ's provisions for bad debt came to $45 million, up $13 million, while customer deposit growth came to 1.7 per cent over the quarter.
