Macquarie Says Business Improving

Post by NeilMc on September 10, 2009 · Under Australian Economy, Business News, Company News, Equities, banking · Comment

Australian investment banking major, Macquarie Group has noted improvement in the operational performance of its major business units during the first quarter from the previous quarter.

Financial services, banking, securities, commodities and treasury all provided positive contributions to the group’s performance Macquarie said in a trading update at an investor conference on Thursday. Though its Macquarie Capital unit did see a decline in performance compared with the fourth quarter.

Macquarie reiterated profit guidance of approximately $435.5 million it had issued during its AGM in July, a decline of 28 per cent from the previous year.

“We continue to maintain a cautious stance with a conservative approach to funding and capital, notwithstanding some improvement in market conditions. Market conditions continue to be volatile, making short-term forecasting extremely difficult.” Macquarie said during the conference.

Macquarie said its profit estimate was dependant on asset prices and the completion of transactions. One-off items had offset each other during the quarter to June.

The investment bank said it held high levels of cash and had excess capital, which meant that given current market conditions, growth opportunities existed.

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