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Mortgage lender Homeloans Ltd has today announced a sound interim financial result - and board members are partly crediting the group's acquisition of defunct Refund Home Loans Pty Ltd.
Homeloans’ chairman, Tim Holmes, says the lender’s first half result was bolstered by the one-off profit from the sale to Aussie Home Loans of its 26.5% stake in aggregator National Mortgage Brokers, which realised $1 million profit after tax.
Furthermore, he says that after allowing for this one-off injection of funds, Homeloans’ normalised result was up on the six months to 31 December 2012 and that the group ‘benefited’ from the addition of brokers to its network, as a result of the acquisition of certain assets of Refund Home Loans Pty Ltd in June, 2012.
“We have completed the integration of the Refund Home Loan brokers, and sales through this channel are progressing well.”
Additional highlights for the six months to December 31, 2012, include a net profit after tax after normalising for the NMB sale of $4 million, up 5.8% on the previous corresponding period.
#pb# Lending volumes also increased 1.8% on the pcp and were up 7.8% on the six months to June 30, 2012
Holmes says despite market-defining challenges in recent years, the aggregator has demonstrated a ‘solid’ performance across a number of key metrics.
“These results are on track for the first half of the financial year and we are cautiously optimistic about the opportunities in the second half, as we’re starting to see recovery in some of our markets. It is particularly pleasing that we have been able to continue growing our volumes, particularly at a time when housing credit growth rates have remained at record lows and the competition for mortgage lending has further intensified.”
Whilst Homeloans expects the challenges presented by current market conditions to continue into the second half of the financial year, the company is confident that its strategy to focus on the competitiveness of its lending products and service will help drive settlement volumes in the second half.
Homeloans CEO, Scott McWilliam, says there are signs that momentum is building in 2013.
“Recent property data shows home values around Australia are increasing and this, combined with factors including lower than average interest rates, low inflation, and low residential rental vacancies is good news for both upgraders and investors, which could translate into increased market participation. Compared with previous years, it seems the market is on a firmer footing, which bodes well for the second half of the financial year.”
