Commonwealth Bank shares have shot to a record high after the big four bank handed down a near 16 per cent lift in quarterly cash profit.

CBA announced this morning that its cash profit reached $2.2 billion in the three months to March 31, buoyed by strong revenue growth and efforts to control costs.

Net profit came in at $2.3 billion, up 21 per cent compared with the same period a year ago.

CBA shares soared to a record  $80.67 on the back of the positive news, before settling a little to trade 0.85 per cent or 67 cents higher to $80.58 at 1348 AEST. The stock broke through the $80 mark for the first time yesterday, as traders punted on a bumper result from the financial behemoth.

CBA said it had recorded moderate mortgage growth as lower interest rates fuelled more activity, but added that this had resulted in borrowers paying back more on their loans.

“Lower interest rates supported strong growth in new business activity compared to the prior year, however this was balanced by higher levels of loan repayments,” the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

Household deposit growth remained strong, but commercial lending remained subdued, while the bank’s group net interest margin, a measure of its profitability, declined during the quarter.

Credit quality was stable, with impaired assets unchanged at $3.9 billion, the bank said.

Both NAB and Westpac, trading ex-dividend, had dragged on the Australian market, CommSec market analyst Juliana Roadley said.

“There was really nothing negative in the budget for the market so, if anything, we expected the market to open higher,” she said.

“The biggest thing dragging the market down is the fact two big banks are going ex-dividend. But, apart from that, the market is really solid.”

The budget was released on Tuesday night.

AAP