AMP has slightly raised its guidance for the net interest (NIM) margin of its banking subsidiary and pushed back the expected completion date for its $150 million business simplification program.
Chief Financial Officer Blair Vernon said AMP Bank’s NIM, the difference between interest income and interest expense, in the 2025 financial year (FY25) was expected to be in line with the first half at 1.3%.
This was a revision on the guidance provided in February when the financial services group said NIM in FY25 would be “broadly in line” with the 1.26% reported for FY24, which in turn was down from 1.42% in FY23.
He said controllable costs, which fell by more than 4% to $303 million in the first half, were expected to be $600 million in FY25, in line with its market commitment and guidance.
This included the initial operational costs of the new digital-only AMP GO Bank, which was launched in February and reflected ongoing momentum in cutting costs.
“Our business simplification program continues to deliver results and is now expected to conclude slightly later than anticipated, but remains within our guided investment envelope of one $50 million pre tax,” Vernon told an analyst and investor briefing.
The program, which has a $60 million investment remaining, is expected to be completed during FY26.
It has involved reducing the number of superannuation products, selling non-core assets, reducing debt, costs and employee numbers, returning surplus capital to shareholders and flattening the organisational structure.
Margins from AMP’s North platform and Superannuation & Investments businesses were forecast to remain at 43% and 63% respectively in the full year.
AMP (ASX: AMP) shares climbed nine cents 0.539% to $1.76, capitalising the superannuation, investments and insurance company at $4.36 billion, and marking a 56% increase over the last year.
