Commonwealth Bank Lifts Dividend as Annual Profit Rises 7.1%

By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--Commonwealth Bank of Australia raised its dividend by more than expected as the lending giant lifted annual profit 7.1% on strong lending and deposit volumes.

Commonwealth Bank, the country's second largest company with a market capitalization of US215 billion, on Wednesday reported a cash profit for the 12 months through June of 10.98 billion Australian dollars, equivalent to about US$7.75 billion.

Statutory revenue rose by 6.6% to A$30.15 billion and the bank's net interest margin, a key measure of lending profitability closely watched by analysts, rose by 2 basis points over the half to 2.05% against a backdrop of three interest-rate rises by Australia's central bank.

Net interest margin was 3 basis points lower than across the last fiscal year.

The board lifted the final dividend to A$2.70, from A$2.60 a year earlier. Analysts had been looking for a payout of about A$2.66, according to data compiled by Visible Alpha.

The average analyst forecast had been for a cash profit of A$10.84 billion from revenue of just over A$30 billion.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 11, 2026 18:02 ET (22:02 GMT)