Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) shares are wavering between gains and losses on Thursday.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bank stock were down 0.6% in early trade before clawing back those losses to post a 0.07% gain at the time of writing.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.3% at this same, having also jumped from some steeper losses to modest gains in earlier trade.
The ANZ share price moves come amid some mixed messages from chairman Paul O'Sullivan and CEO Shayne Elliot at ANZ's 2023 annual general meeting (AGM) in Brisbane today.
Here's what's happening.
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ANZ shares profitability highlighted amid gathering headwinds
Speaking at the AGM, O'Sullivan noted that the bank had produced "a very strong outcome" for its shareholders over the past year.
ANZ achieved a full-year cash profit of $7.4 billion, up 14% year on year.
But O'Sullivan sounded a cautious note on ongoing inflation pressures and elevated interest rates, which could throw up headwinds for ANZ shares in the year ahead.
"Despite this strong performance, we continue to face headwinds as central banks grapple with high inflation and many customers struggle with cost-of-living increases," he said.
And while inflation pressures have eased, O'Sullivan said, "uncertainty remains".
He added:
We know many of our customers are feeling the financial pressure and indeed some may find themselves in financial difficulty over the coming year. This is where ANZ's financial strength comes into play. We are well prepared with high levels of provisions, capital, liquidity and funding…
O'Sullivan also said the company remained hopeful to complete its acquisition of Suncorp Bank, the banking arm of Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN). He said, "This will add significant scale to our retail and commercial businesses here in the fast-growing Queensland market."
ANZ expects a decision from the Australian Competition Tribunal for a review of the ACCC's decision not to authorise the proposed acquisition in February.
ASX 200 bank ready for challenges ahead
Elliot took the podium to announce that following a very strong FY 2022, FY 2023 was the best year ever for ANZ shares.
He noted that all four of the ASX 200 bank's divisions — Australia Retail, Commercial, Institutional and New Zealand – contributed to the strong outcome.
"Relative to our peers, it's clear that ANZ is running the most diversified and well-balanced set of businesses," he said.
Elliot said that this strong diversity "allows us to face into more challenging environments such as the one that exists today".
Facing that more challenging environment into 2024, Elliot added:
Despite high levels of competition and concerns around a slowing of the economy, we are confident that our strong balance sheet and diversified business provides us with resilience and an ongoing ability to support our customers.
ANZ shares are up 12% in 2023.
