Hikes interim dividend, considers more payouts Sets target to bring down annual costs to A$8 bln by 2023 Australian banks recovering rapidly from COVID slump (Adds CEO’s quote, cost reduction goal, share move)
SYDNEY, May 5 (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) said it would consider returning capital to shareholders as its first-half profit more than doubled, boosted by the release of funds it had set aside previously to cover potential COVID-19 losses.
Australian banks started recovering from the pandemic earlier than global peers, as the country’s success in controlling the virus combined with near-zero interest rates and high government spending lifted consumer confidence and the housing market.
By Byron Kaye SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian television and newspaper firm Seven West Media Ltd signed multi-year content deals with Facebook Inc and Google as tough new media laws enabled the industry to secure new revenue sources and adapt to the internet age. The top-rating free-to-air broadcaster and publisher of Perth city s main metro daily said on Monday it would supply content for the Alphabet Inc unit s News Showcase platform for five years and to a similar Facebook product for three. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. The arrangements mean the U.S. Big Tech platforms are now committed to paying two of Australia s three largest traditional news outlets for content, marking an about turn just two months after they had vowed to quit the country over laws forcing them to pay for the links that drive traffic to their websites.
By Reuters Staff
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May 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Monday, boosted by gains in the country’s second-biggest lender Westpac Banking Corp after upbeat earnings, but gains were capped by losses in miners and energy companies on weak commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.5% at 7,059.5 as at 0034 GMT.
The top percentage gainers on the were Charter Hall Group, up 1.14%, followed by Ampol Ltd, gaining 1.06% and Blackmores Ltd, rising 1.06%.
Financial stocks were the biggest percentage gainers, adding about 1.5%, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and Commonwealth Bank of Australia gaining 0.5% each.
Westpac jumped as much as 4.4%, after it reported a near three-fold jump in its first-half cash earnings, and it laid out a three-year plan to cut costs.
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