Despite greater competition and a fluctuating market, non-bank lender Liberty Financial Group’s net profit after tax has risen 18% to $219.3m for the financial year ended June 30.
This compared to MPAT of $185.4m in FY21. Announcing its FY22 results, Liberty also confirmed its financial assets increased 6% from $12.2bn to $12.9bn.
Other financial highlights for the group included a 2% increase on return on equity from 20% to 20.4%. Its leverage ratio (end of period) was down -3% from 13.2x to 12.8x.
Liberty CEO James Boyle (pictured above) said the strong result was achieved in a period of increased bank competition and macro-economic uncertainty.
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“We continued progress on our mission of providing solutions for free thinkers in need of finance,” Boyle said.
“Generating asset growth while also maintaining ROA and ROE is further evidence of Liberty Financial Group’s increasing and durable business value.”
After adjusting for non-recurring IPO expenses and non-cash amortisation, Liberty reported 2% growth in underlying NPATA to $231.1m for the year ended June 30, 2022.
It also reported 36% growth in new loans to $5.6bn at the same time as reporting a stable net interest margin of 3.08% in contrast to industry margin decline.
Liberty chief financial officer Peter Riedel said the company’s capital and liquidity position remained in a strong position to continue supporting its customers and business partners.
“Liberty Financial Group established seven new funding vehicles in FY22 raising $5bn in new liquidity,” Riedel said.
“Also, during the year, Standard & Poor’s affirmed Liberty’s investment grade credit rating with positive outlook.”
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The group announced its final unfranked actual distribution of 28.2cs per security, which was an increase of 17% from FY21.
The FY22 distribution implies a dividend yield of 10%, based on a security price of $5.
