By Alice Uribe


SYDNEY--ANZ Group Holdings reported a 4% fall in interim profit, but boosted its dividend by almost 2.5% and announced a share buyback as its capital position remained strong.

The Australian lender said its net profit totaled 3.40 billion Australian dollars (US$2.25 billion) for the six months through March. Consensus forecasts compiled by FactSet projected ANZ's first-half profit would be A$3.60 billion.

Cash earnings--a measure closely tracked by analysts that strips out non-core items such as revenue hedges and treasury shares--fell by 7% to A$3.55 billion.

ANZ's Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio--a key measure of a bank's ability to withstand financial shocks--was 13.5%, up 6 basis points on September.

ANZ said it intended to buy back up to A$2 billion of shares on-market, which it expects will reduce the CET1 ratio by approximately 46 basis points.

ANZ declared an interim dividend of A$0.83 a share, up from A$0.81 a year earlier.


Write to Alice Uribe at alice.uribe@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-06-24 1811ET