IOOF Limited has reported a six per cent decline in net profit after tax attributable to members to $46,089 million to the end of December amid what its managing director Chris Kelaher has described as challenging market conditions.
However, he said the result reflected the underlying resilience of the firm in circumstances where revenue had been impacted by markets, but IOOF’s margins had remained steady.
The directors declared a fully franked dividend of 19 cents per share.
As well, Kelaher said that during the period IOOF had acquired DKN Financial Group which had now been fully integrated into the group, adding 270 financial advisers to the distribution network and $6.8 billion to IOOF’s funds under advice.
He said that since acquisition, DKN had contributed $0.1 million in reported profit, or $2.3 million in underling net profit after tax pre-amortisation in three months.
Looking to the future, Kelaher said that following on from IOOF’s simplification program, the company had a heightened focus on investment in organic growth initiatives, including new products, branding and the continuous improvement of the IT infrastructure.
He said continuing market volatility made providing forecasts difficult, but IOOF was well-placed to meet the upcoming regulatory deadlines with all flagship products already Future of Financial Advice compliant with fee for service options available.
