Nov 6 (Reuters) - Australian financial conglomerate Macquarie Group Ltd MQG.AX reported a 32.4% drop in first-half profit on Friday, smaller than its recent forecast, hurt by delayed deals and challenging market conditions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Profit for the six months ended Sept. 30 fell to A$985 million ($717.57 million) from a record A$1.46 billion a year earlier. Macquarie warned in September that its profit would fall by around 35%. company also cut its interim dividend to A$1.35 per share from A$2.50 year ago.
($1 = 1.3727 Australian dollars)