Financial highlights
- Net Profit After Tax increased by 164% to $1.063m
- Underlying Profit After Tax increased by 95% to $1.675m
- Record funds under management achieved – increased by 12.9% to $708m
- Revenues increased by 10.7% to $16.378m
- Operating expenses reduced by 0.6%
Operating highlights
- Record Superannuation members reached – 14,868
- Superannuation administration successfully transitioned
- Strong investment outperformance by flagship Smaller Companies Trust
- Digital communications strategy improving reach, client engagement and efficiency – majority new clients joining online
- Strong investment outperformance by flagship Smaller Companies Trust
Overview
Australian Ethical Investment today announced a Net Profit After Tax of $1.063m and an Underlying Profit After Tax of $1.675m. This represents an increase of 164% and 95% respectively over the prior year.
Contributors to the increase were improved market levels, continued cost control and improved net flows.
The result included a number of one off charges including further impairment on its building in Canberra and impairment to the value of listed securities held on its balance sheet.
Commenting on the result, Managing Director, Phillip Vernon said:
“We are very pleased with this result. Many of the improvements we have made to the business over the past few years are bearing fruit.”
“Improvements to our products, greater brand awareness and smarter sales and marketing has led to a doubling of our monthly new clients and a steady improvement in our flows.”
“We have also made significant changes to our fees to make our products more competitive and continue to focus on managing our costs.”
“Investment in digital communications and social media have improved our client engagement, reach and efficiency with a focus on interactive communication and shareable content. The vast majority of new clients now join online.”
“Our focus on advisers continues to gain traction as they see the opportunity for consistently performing alternatives to mainstream investments. Our flagship fund – the Smaller Companies Trust – continues to outperform its benchmark by a considerable margin over the long term returning 22.4% over 1 year and 9.4% over ten. This fund is now more competitively priced for the wholesale market and has particular appeal to the SMSF investor.”
“Our strategy of becoming the fund of choice or default fund for ethically minded employers has also gained considerable traction with an increasing number of default employers and employee loyalty achieved through increased servicing and support.”
“We have passed a number of milestones over the past year including record funds under management and record number of clients. There is a feeling of positive momentum in the business.
“There is a growing demand from investors for genuinely ethically managed investments managed in a professional and commercial manner. We are focused on delivering that in a sustainable manner over the long term.”
Dividend
The Directors declared a final fully franked dividend of 45c taking the total dividend for the year to 85c, an increase of 42% on the previous year.
For further information please contact:
Phil Vernon
Managing Director
Tel: 0407 169 528