Westpac Banking Cp Ord (WEBNF) Q4 2024 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Westpac's 2024 results. My name is Justin McCarthy, General Manager of Investor Relations. Before we begin today, I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of the country we are meeting on today. I pay my respects to Elders past and present and extend that respect to all First Nations people present today. The result will be presented by our CEO, Peter King, and CFO Michael Rowland. At the end of the presentation, you'll have an opportunity to ask questions. As a reminder, to ask questions, please press star 1. With that, over to you, Peter. Well, thank you, Justin, and good morning, everyone. Overall, I'm very happy with the progress we've made this year. Financially, we were disciplined, with margin management a highlight, and the balance sheet is in a strong position. We've grown in all our key segments off the back of improving customer service. Business loans and consumer deposits grew 8%, while mortgages were up 5%. Our mortgage approval times were cut to less than five days, and importantly, service levels were more consistent throughout the year. In business, merchants and payments innovation, along with investment in bankers and simplification, has driven growth. And we've consolidated its leading position in markets and delivered strong balance sheet growth. The strength of the group's balance sheet, particularly the capital position, supported a further $1 billion increase in the share buyback program. Starting with our financial performance, statutory net profit was $7 billion this year. That's down 3%, while our key return metric, return on tangible equity, was 11%. Excluding notables, which were only hedging volatility, net profit was $7.1 billion. Revenue was up 1% from good loa...