(8 November 2004 – Australia) Adelaide Bank managing director Barry Fitzpatrick has told shareholders the regional bank is set for another record profit following a strong first quarter.Speaking at the bank’s annual general meeting, Fitzpatrick said mortgage approvals had increased by seven percent in Q1 and that retail deposits had also grown.
He said home mortgage approvals had grown to A$1.77 billion, up from A$1.65 million the same period a year earlier.
“Our beginning to 2004-05 shows we are on track to achieve our aims of underlying earnings and earnings per share growth in excess of 10 percent,” Fitzpatrick said.
But he echoed other bank chief executives by acknowledging that margins were coming under pressure.
“We stand by our prediction that we will experience a contraction in margin of between 10 and 15 basis points over the year.”
Adelaide Bank posted a record profit of A$68.2 million for 2004 year, an increase of 35 percent on the 2003 result.