BT has stellar half year

BT Financial Group has been shown to be the most impressive performing business unit of Westpac for the half year ended March 31, 2006, contributing strongly to the banking group’s record interim net profit of $1.47 billion.

The result achieved by the bank’s financial services arm were described by Westpac chief executive David Morgan as a “standout”, and included $501 million in operating revenue, which represented a 13 per cent increase, and net profit of $165 million, which was a 20 per cent rise.

Productivity from BT’s financial planning activities also rose by 29 per cent on the back of the implementation of new systems covering training, learning and development, and the introduction of new advice software.

In relation to the products BT offers, both platforms and corporate superannuation volumes climbed by 43 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. The organisation’s platforms are now placed second in terms of market share, which currently stands at 12 per cent. BT’s corporate super has a market share of 7 per cent.

Another area of growth was funds under administration, which experienced a rise of 27 per cent for the period.

One area of the business that did not increase at a rapid rate was operating expenses. They were limited to $265 million for the half-year, which represented a rise of only 2 per cent.

This achievement was the result of efficiency programs employed by the business that produced a more streamlined straight through processing structure for the wrap and corporate super offerings.