Australian Ethical Investment Limited has announced a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $0.487 million for the 6 months to 31 December 2012 (FY13). This represents an increase of 71% over the prior corresponding period.
Commenting on the result, Phil Vernon, Managing Director of Australian Ethical said, “We have been working hard over the past few years to get the business on a sound commercial footing by improving our products, making our fees more competitive and reducing our costs. The business is now well placed to benefit from any uplift in equity markets.”
Revenues have been positively impacted by improvements in equity markets but have also absorbed numerous fee reductions. Expenses were positively impacted by a reduction in fixed staff costs although these were partly offset by increased variable outsourced provider costs.
“Our operational efficiency has increased significantly over the past few years. Investments in new systems and improvements in processes have allowed us to reduce our staff numbers from 46 to 34. We are also experiencing near record funds under management despite equity markets still being significantly lower than their peak” said Vernon.
“Greater brand awareness and further improvement in client acquisition and conversion processes have also led to record new clients taken on in January and February this year which is a positive sign for the future.”
