Provided by Dow Jones By Alice Uribe SYDNEY--Westpac Banking Corp. said its first-half net profit nearly tripled, as one-off items and impairments were lower than a year earlier. The Australian bank said its net profit totaled 3.44 billion Australian dollars (US$2.6 billion) in the six months through March, up from A$1.19 billion at the corresponding stage of the 2020 fiscal year. Cash earnings--a measure closely tracked by analysts that strips out non-core items such as revenue hedges and treasury shares--rose by 256% to A$3.54 billion. This was ahead of consensus expectations for cash earnings of A$3.3 billion. Excluding notable items, cash profit rose by 60% to A$3.82 billion.