Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Macquarie Group expects rise in profit

Updated at 8:43 pm on 9 February 2010

Macquarie Group is picking profits may rise by a tenth in the second half of the year as markets recover from the global financial crisis.

The Australian investment bank, which has been described as the "millionaire factory", made a profit of $A479 million in the first half, and is forecasting a similar result in the second half, though it may beat that by 10%.

Macquarie used the slowdown to buy assets cheaply offshore.

The company says it has $A4.5 billion in excess capital but did not outline its plans for the money, other than to reiterate its need for a strong balance sheet.

It says last year's strong bounce-back has moderated in certain areas, including Australian equity capital markets and credit businesses.

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