The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price will be one to watch on Tuesday.
That's because the investment bank has just released its third quarter update.
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Macquarie share price on watch after 'good quarter'
While no numbers have been provided, Macquarie revealed that it experienced "varied conditions" for its diverse businesses in the three months to 31 December, resulting in a "good quarter" for the company.
According to the release, this led to the bank's net profit after tax for the nine months to 31 December being "slightly up" on the prior corresponding period. This is a decent showing given that the prior period included a record December quarter result.
The stars of the show for Macquarie were its markets-facing businesses, Commodities and Global Markets (CGM) and Macquarie Capital.
Their combined third quarter net profit contribution was "substantially up" on prior corresponding period primarily due to the CGM business. This was driven by commodities including gas and power contributions across all regions, partially offset by a lower level of realisations and lower fee and commission income in Macquarie Capital.
This strong performance offset a weaker performance from Macquarie's annuity-style businesses, Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) and Banking and Financial Services (BFS).
Their combined quarterly net profit contribution was "substantially down" on the prior corresponding period. This was mainly due to larger green energy sector asset realisations in MAM in the prior corresponding period, which was partially offset by continued growth in BFS.
It is the same story for Macquarie's performance year to date, with its markets-facing businesses delivering profit growth and its annuity-style businesses recording softer profits.
Nevertheless, a solid fourth quarter is likely to see Macquarie achieve a record result for FY 2023.
Outlook
The good news is that Macquarie's CEO, Shemara Wikramanayake, appears positive on the company's outlook. She said:
Macquarie remains well-positioned to deliver superior performance over the medium term. This is due to our deep expertise in major markets; strength in business and geographic diversity and ability to adapt the portfolio mix to changing market conditions; an ongoing program to identify cost saving initiatives and efficiency; ongoing technology spend across the Group; a strong and conservative balance sheet; and a proven risk management framework and culture.
