Easton Investments has announced higher statutory profit (54 per cent) and higher underlying profit (17 per cent) for the 12 months. The firm said the results were helped by a sharp uplift in the number of advisers.
The firm said that its number of advisers on licence grew to 771 authorised representatives, of which 573 were limited authorised representatives.
The results also benefitted from continued growth in CARE Managed accounts (CARE) to $2.1 billion.
Also, the company’s two core business streams – Wealth Solutions and Accounting Solutions – continued to grow during the year with consolidated revenue increasing by 18 per cent to $59.8 million.
At the same time, Accounting Solutions delivered a flat result with an underlying profit contribution of $3.11 million, which represented one per cent growth.
The board announced a final dividend of two per cents per share, fully franked, which would bring the rolling 12-month dividend rate to three cents per share.
As far as the future outlook was concerned, the directors said they remained positive about the company’s strategic direction, its market position and its ongoing growth prospects.
“A number of factors continue to weigh on Easton’s share price, some of which are company related such as size and liquidity, and some of which are sector or industry related. Directors feel obliged to understand and evaluate these factors and to seek to identify ways and means of creating value for our shareholders.
“In this context directors will continue to explore all avenues and options that are considered capable of enhancing profitability and shareholder value,” the company said in a press release.
Also, the company said it would be alert to strategic acquisition opportunities while regulatory and industry changes were expected to provide both organic and non-organic growth opportunities.
