Australia's Commonwealth Bank on August 11 posted a 20 percent rise in its full year net profit, but warned it remained cautious about the coming year due to fragile business and consumer confidence.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia - the nation's largest by market capitalisation - said net profit for the year was 5.66 billion dollars (5.15 billion US), in part due to solid growth in retail banking and a reduction in write-offs.
The bank's cash earnings for the financial year ended June 30 were 6.10 billion dollars, a 42 percent rise on the previous year, while the group's Asian business recorded a cash net profit of 45 million dollars, a 50 percent increase, it said.
Chief executive Ralph Norris said the Sydney-based institution's good performance stemmed from its focus on strategic goals amid the uncertainty of global financial markets.
Commenting on the outlook for 2011, Norris said "global recovery remains uneven with the concerns about the advanced economies balanced out by some strength in the emerging economies". Norris said that while he was optimistic about the medium-term outlook for the Australian economy, uncertainty over the pace of recovery in the United States and Europe highlighted the risks still in play.