The following is an extract from the article entitled “St George tops $500
Business Finance
Question 2
The following is an extract from the article entitled “St George tops $500m”, reported on May
3,
2006 in the Herald Sun (p. 33).
“ST GEORGE Bank’s national expansion plans continue to bear fruit, yesterday helping it crack
the half billion dollar interim profit mark.
A sluggish Sydney economy was overcome by stronger growth from its expansion regions of
Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia.
The Dragon produced a profit of $502 million, up nearly 12%. The number slightly
disappointed analysts, which had tipped a marginally higher figure.
In a day when the overall market was off 0.6%, St George finished down 59 cents, or 1.9%, at
$30.37. The board declared a dividend of 74 cents a share, up from the previous interim dividend
of 67 cents a share. It will be paid on July 4 after going ex-dividend on June 14.
St George chief executive Gail Kelly told reporters she’s done a dance with Happy – the St
George dragon mascot – before coming in to face them in the afternoon. “It is a quality result
. .
.
(and) it is an exceptionally clean result,” she said.
Mrs Kelly backed comments by her counterpart at ANZ, chief executive John McFarlane, who last
week said his bank had experienced a particularly strong finish to the reporting period to March
30. February, March and even April had shown particularly strong growth in volumes and
profitability,
but Mrs Kelly stopped short of delivering a profit upgrade.
Sydney, rather than NSW, stayed sluggish, with flatter housing prices weighing on growth. But
chief financial officer Steve McKerihan said he believed there were early signs of a recovery in
Sydney’s economic fortunes, which should accelerate in 2007.
The bank’s key indicators showed strong to glowing performances. Earnings per share are “on
track to
deliver” 10% growth for 2006 and 2007 under the new Australian International Financial
Reporting Standards system. Return on equity was 23.8%, while the
expense-to-income
ratio fell
to 44.1%, putting St George ahead of all larger rivals. Mrs Kelly said home loan growth was at
13% and deposits were up
13.5%, putting both above peer system
growth.”
St George’s share price decreased, although it reported a record profit and increase in
dividend. This seems inconsistent with an efficient securities market.
Required:
Give three reasons that might have
contributed
to this share market reaction. Provide three
headings in your answer: “Reason 1”, “Reason 2” and “Reason 3” and carefully highlight
whether each
reason is consistent with stock market efficiency.