Macquarie Group profits down

Macquarie Group annual profit falls 52%, its profit for the year ended in March falls by 52%. Profit for the year after tax was 871 million Australian dollars ($635 million).

In the second half, there was continued market declines particularly in November 2008 and February 2009,Macquarie Chief Executive Nicholas Moore said in a statement. The year’s result was marked by a significant number of one-off items resulting from these market conditions.