Provided by Dow Jones By Alice Uribe SYDNEY--Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia's biggest investment bank and asset manager, said trading conditions improved in the first quarter of the 2022 fiscal year. In comments released ahead of its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, Macquarie said its operating group net profit contribution for the three months through June--a measure of earnings before some corporate costs, profit share and income tax--was significantly higher than a year earlier. Macquarie said the combined contribution of its annuity-style businesses to net profit was slightly ahead of a year ago, while it was significantly higher for its markets-facing businesses.