The so-called ‘bad bank’ was a quarantined book of poorly performing commercial loans that Suncorp decided to offload last financial year.
Suncorp’s net profit of $491 million is down 32 per cent on the $724 million profit reported in 2011/2012.
In an announcement on the ASX website, the company was keen to highlight the performance of its ‘core’ business lines, which saw a 19 per cent increase in profit to $1,232 million.
The general insurance arm of the business posted a net profit of $883 million, up from $493 million in the previous financial year.
Suncorp has announced a full-year ordinary dividend of 55 cents per share fully franked (up from 40 cents in 2011/2012), as well as a special dividend of 20 cents per share fully franked.
The group holds $847 million of total capital in excess of operating targets.
Suncorp chairman Dr Ziggy Switkowski acknowledged that the resolution of the Non-core bank came at a cost to the headline profit.
“The decision to undertake the portfolio sale has de-risked the bank, released capital in support of shareholder returns and made clear the true value of the Suncorp Group,” he said.
Suncorp chief executive Patrick Snowball said the group had maintained or improved its margins through “operational efficiencies and a focus on cost control”.
“We are also making great progress on a range of initiatives designed to simplify our legal, administrative and operational structures that will make our business more efficient and lead to further savings,” he said.
