Australia’s Westpac first-quarter profit falls from its prior HY quarterly average By Reuters

(Reuters) – Australia’s Westpac Banking (NYSE:) Corp on Monday said its first quarter unaudited net profit was lower than its prior six-month’s quarterly average, citing impact of notable items related to hedge accounting.

The country’s no. 2 mortgage provider’s unaudited net profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 was A$1.5 billion ($978.60 million), down 6% from the quarterly average for the prior six months. That compares with Visible Alpha consensus estimate of A$1.65 billion, according to Citi.

($1 = 1.5328 Australian dollars)