Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN) shares are wobbling between small losses and small gains today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock closed on Friday trading for $12.99. In morning trade on Monday, shares have edged back into the green and are changing hands for $13.03 apiece, up 0.3%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.9% at this same time.
This follows the release of Bendigo Bank's full-year financial results for the year ending 30 June (FY 2025).
Read on for the highlights.
Bendigo Bank shares slip on earnings drop
Bendigo Bank shares are in focus today after the bank reported an 8.4% year-on-year decline in cash earnings after tax to $514.6 million.
Statutory earnings after tax of $97.1 million were down 118% from FY 2024. That big decline was mostly driven by an impairment of goodwill.
In other core financial metrics, the bank reported a cash return on equity (ROE) of 7.34% for the 12 months, down 0.84% from FY 2024.
The ASX 200 bank's net interest margin (NIM) also retraced a touch over the year, slipping 0.02% to 1.88%. And Benigo Bank's Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio declined 0.32% in FY 2025 to 11.00%.
On the growth front, the ASX 200 bank reported a 7.6% year-on-year increase in its residential lending book to $66.6 billion. And customer deposits grew 6.6% to $72.9 billion.
On the passive income front, the board declared a final fully franked dividend of 33 cents per share, in line with last year's final Bendigo Bank dividend. If you're looking to bank that payout, you'll need to own shares at market close on 1 September. Bendigo Bank shares trade ex-dividend on 2 September.
Total operating expenses increased by 7.7% for the year, while gross impaired loans decreased 4.5% to $129.5 million, representing 0.15% of gross loans.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results that have yet to sustainably lift Bendigo Bank shares today, CEO Richard Fennell said, "The full year results we present today demonstrate our balanced approach in a challenging and competitive environment."
Addressing the improved second-half performance relative to the first half, Fennell added:
The bank has delivered more moderate growth and stable margin in the second half of FY25. This is in contrast to the first half where a significant increase in demand for our products placed margins under pressure.
Expenses were higher year-on-year due to the planned increase in investment spend… Pleasingly, our business as usual (BAU) expenses, which excludes investment spend, were well below inflation for the second half.
What's ahead for Bendigo Bank shares?
Looking to what could impact Bendigo Bank shares in the year ahead, Fennell said, "Our balance sheet remains well positioned for the current economic outlook and to meet our growth targets with strong capital and liquidity positions at year end."
The ASX 200 bank said its 2030 strategy is underpinned by five pillars:
- Make life easy with digital
- Operate simply and efficiently
- Deepen customer relationships
- Set the benchmark for trust and societal impact
- Reinvent banking for a new generation with Up
The bank is targeting a return on equity above 10% by 2030.
With today's intraday bump factored in, Bendigo Bank shares are up 6% since this time last year, not including dividends.
