A major mortgage franchise has claimed success in its recruitment drive as it reported its best cash result in the company's history.
In January,
Mortgage Choice implemented the “Plus One” initiative which offered a monetary incentive to franchises to bring on new loan consultants. Since its announcement, there has been an increase of 42 loan writers – the number is currently sitting at 549. By the end of the initiative at 30 September, the company said its loan writer count is expected to reach 555.
On the heels of this, the company has reported a net cash profit after tax of $18.7 million in the year to June – an 18.6% increase on last year. Its core broking business recorded an 11% growth in net cash profit for the year.
Chief executive Michael Russell said that the result blew their expectations out of the water.
“We have embraced the opportunities that the strong market has presented us with and managed to deliver some of our best financial results to date. Over the last year, we have managed to significantly grow our underlying statutory revenue and profit, achieve a record number of loan settlements, and realise our highest cash result to date,” he said.
The group increased its loan book by 4.6% - which consisted of $12.2 billion worth of housing loan approvals, up 17.3% on last year.
Chief financial officer
Susan Mitchell said this growth can be attributed to capitalising on the low interest rate environment and robust property market, the growth in the market for broker usage and the group’s investment into growing its number of loan writers.
Looking to the future, Mitchell is confident the group will continue to grow its core broking business.
The franchise is also focussed on its diversification strategy – with its comparison website HelpMeChoose.com.au and its new Mortgage Choice Financial Planning business.
“We are in a very exciting stage of the business. At present, we are successfully transitioning the business into a diversified financial services powerhouse and we will continue to focus on our growth and diversification moving forward – adding value to our customers, franchisees, and our shareholders,” Russell said.
