Login
ISCOVER
Firstfolio has increased settlements and retired debt, although earnings have fallen.
Settlement volumes grew 10.1 per cent year-on-year to $1.6 billion for the six months to 31 December 2013, according to a market update from the financial services group.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
The group’s retail loan aggregation and broking operations, eChoice, enjoyed a rise in settlement volumes of $270 million or 28 per cent.
However, the wholesale finance, franchise and leasing business, Folio Mortgage & Finance, saw settlement volumes fall $125 million or 27 per cent.
Firstfolio said the decline was mainly due to a fall in wholesale mortgage settlements, which came after a restructure that involved a relaunch of Folio and a focus on improving processes.
“This approach directly impacted short-term settlement volumes, however the sales pipeline has grown strongly in November and December,” according to the group.
Firstfolio paid off 4.9 per cent of its net debt between June 30 and December 31, with debt falling from $63.6 million to $60.5 million.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell 22 per cent to $6.5 million. That was attributed to a “change in the mix of settlements from the company’s higher-margin Folio business to the eChoice business”.
The group said it was now targeting “the most profitable long-term sales opportunities” over “low-margin settlement volumes”.
Firstfolio’s loan book at December 31 was $18.5 billion, down 2 per cent from June 30.
Meanwhile, Firstfolio’s interim chief executive, Mark Flack, has resigned after seven months in the role. It comes as the board continues to explore funding options.
