sydney national australia bank ltd reported that profit in its fiscal first quarter was higher than the same time a year earlier driven by lending and deposit growth nab one of australias major banks recorded an unaudited net profit of 205 billion australian dollars us142 billion in the december quarter no comparable figure was disclosed but it compares with an unaudited profit of a180 billion reported by the bank in last years first quarter unaudited cash earnings a measure of profit adjusted for fair value and hedging movements and is the basis for calculating dividend payouts was a215 billion for the quarter the bank said firstquarter revenue grew by 15 when compared with the average of the prior two quarters partly reflecting higher margins and volume growth the higher interest rate environment resulting from central bank actions to curb inflation has benefited our revenue this period but this is also causing economic growth and house prices to soften and loan repayments to increase nab chief executive ross mcewan said the lenders net interest margin a measure of the difference between what a bank pays to get customer deposits and funds rose 12 basis points to 179 when compared with the average of the prior two quarters