By Alice Uribe

SYDNEY--National Australia Bank lifted its dividend by almost 14%, and reported a 19% increase in interim profit, helped in part by a strong performance in its business banking unit.

Australia's second largest lender by market capitalization said its net profit rose to 3.97 billion Australian dollars (US$2.64 billion) in the six months through March, up from A$3.55 billion a year prior.

Analysts had expected an interim net profit of A$4.10 billion, according to FactSet's consensus estimate.

Cash earnings--a measure closely tracked by analysts that strips out non-core items such as revenue hedges and treasury shares--rose by 17% to A$4.07 billion.

The bank declared an interim dividend of A$0.83 per share, compared with A$0.73 a year earlier.

NAB's Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 12.21%, down from 12.48% the previous year.

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

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 03, 2023 18:34 ET (22:34 GMT)

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