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Macquarie Group H1 net profit falls 43 pct

Published: 17 Nov 2008 18:50:21 PST

SYDNEY, Nov 18 - Macquarie Group Ltd <MQG.AX>, Australia's biggest investment bank, posted a 43 percent fall in first-half profit after taking substantial writedowns due to sharply deteriorating markets.

Net profit for the six months to end-September fell to A$604 million ($392 million), from A$1.06 billion in the year earlier period, just short of an average forecast of A$607.3 million by six analysts.

Investment banks worldwide have been punished by investors questioning their high-risk business model following the collapse of Lehman Brothers <LEHMQ.PK> and moves by Goldman Sachs <GS.N> and others to become bank holding companies.

Macquarie shares have dived 73 percent this year, while smaller domestic rival Babcock & Brown <BNB.AX> has lost 98.5 percent, underperforming the broader S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO>, which is down 42.5 percent.