Genesys proves a profitable challenge
By Michael Bailey
THE acquisition of AssociatedPlanners Financial Services (APFS) and its integration with Garrisons Financial Planning to form Genesys has immediately benefited Challenger, with the dealership contributing $1 million to the group’s $64 million interim net profit result.
However, the division housing Genesys, Challenger WealthManagement, still lost $1 million before tax for the six months to December 31, albeit improving on the $6 million it shed in the corresponding 2003 period.
Challenger said the improvement was “largely due to a sharp turnaround in the profitability of financial planning and savings achieved from aggressive cost management, including the continuing replacement of legacy systems and the closure of unprofitable products”.
Genesys’ $1 million profit was ahead of Challenger’s schedule, which aims to make the entire wealth management division profitable by the second half of the 2006 financial year.
Challenger’s founder, Bill Ireland, has also eked out a profit from his current venture, Mariner Financial group.
The group made a net $2.3 million in the six months to December 31, slightly down on the $2.4 million profit for the previous corresponding period.
The successful closing of the Mariner Infrastructure Trust No. 1 — whose sole asset is the Sydney Opera House car park — boosted performance, balancing out a loss made by the Mariner Retirement Solutions subsidiary. It posted a net loss of $1.7 million, which Ireland attributed to the cost of establishing term-allocated pensions.
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