In an ASX announcement, WT Financial reported strong indicative results for the first half of FY24–25, with a 33.5 per cent increase in revenue and other income for the underlying business over the prior corresponding period (PCP) to $106.3 million, up from $79.6 million, and a 35.8 per cent increase in underlying net profit before tax (NPBT) to $2.45 million, up from $1.81 million.
WT Financial said it anticipates declaring a fully franked interim dividend of 0.20 cents per share, bringing dividends declared in the past 12 months to 0.70 cents.
“The results are reflective of our disciplined approach to growth and integration. Successfully aligning all our networks under a unified framework has provided operational efficiency while enabling the practices we support to access an even broader range of services,” WT Financial founder and chief executive Keith Cullen said.
“We’re committed to rewarding shareholders as our business grows. The expected interim dividend underscores our confidence in the future and delivers on our capital management objective of balancing reinvestment needs with attractive returns to investors.”
The firm added that there was not any impact on its results from one-off income/expenses for the half, resulting in an expected statutory NPBT in line with the underlying profit of $2.45 million.
WT Financial added that while it has not finalised its expected tax position, however, with the benefit of carried-forward tax losses, no cash tax liability will arise.
“The outlook for the advice profession and the company is very positive as growing demand for quality financial and personal risk insurance advice continues to see revenue and profitability increase. While adviser numbers remain constricted through high barriers to entry, increasingly practices are embracing advancements in technology to enable them to achieve further growth by serving more clients more efficiently,” Cullen added.
“We are also experiencing increasing demand from practices for us to provide them with advice and support for M&A initiatives to enable them to achieve scale and drive operational efficiencies, margins and asset values.
“With our corporate experience in capital markets and M&A, and our track record of success in business integrations, we’re very well placed to respond to that demand which we expect will further improve the outlook and outcomes for practices, their clients and our shareholders.”
