Firstfolio Limited has reported $2.3 million in underlying cash net profit after tax in the half year to December 2014, with strong results from broking and aggregation.
Average monthly settlements in aggregation and broking have increased 21.9% over the past 18 months.
The lender says its new growth strategy, announced in November 2014, has been a key contributor to their profitable outcome, after a tough year beset with debt and loss.
Firstfolio chief executive, Peter Andronicos says they are still in a challenging business environment, although important progress had been made in positioning its brands for growth, particularly its
eChoice online mortgage platform.
“We have made important changes that are starting to show in improving business metrics,” he said.
“This builds a stronger foundation for the business heading into the remainder of 2015.”
The report showed the loan book had declined by $0.5 billion to $17.7 billion, although still an industry heavyweight with $3.1 billion in new loans settled in 2014.
Andronicos said the highly competitive Australian mortgage market meant it was essential to stay at the cutting edge of technology and service innovation in order to remain ahead of the pack.
“We recognise that the business has been challenged but the feedback we have received from the market on the new strategy and the new management team has been very positive.”
The company will ask shareholders at a general meeting on 27 March 2015 to approve a change of name for the company from Firstfolio Limited to eChoice Limited.
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