WBC +3.23%: A strong 1H22 result this morning from Westpac beating consensus expectations by ~6%.Cash NPAT of $3.1bn was ahead of the $2.9bn expected while the interim dividend of 61c was a tick above the 60c pencilled in by the market. Cost management was a key driver and they did a good job here, cutting underlying costs by 10% plus they also guided for 2H22 costs to be 0-2% lower than the 1H i.e. costs flat or trending lower which goes against what we saw from the other banks who are stepping back from their cost guidance. This seems slightly odd that WBC can deliver further reductions while other banks (and the mkt more generally) are experiencing cost pressures, time will tell on this one. The share price performance tells you the story today and we wouldn’t be surprised to see some performance catch up to the others after a sustained period of underperformance.
MM remains bullish the banks
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