Broker network
Austbrokers is focusing on further expanding its insurance and risk division and the underwriting agency business in the coming financial year.
According to its 2014 annual report, Austbrokers’ strategy is to focus on three key pillars: growing its existing distribution business organically and through acquisition; growing its underwriting agency business by expanding the products underwritten and extending the owner driver model to these activities and by acquisition, and diversifying into insurance and risk services sector.
“As a group we have long-term, holistic view of insurance and risk” and in 2014 this resulted in the expansion into broader insurance and risk capabilities,” the report said.
“The expansion of this business division will be a key focus in the coming year.”
Austbrokers CEO and managing director Searles, in his MD address, assured stakeholders that the network will continue to stay “ahead of the curve” in 2015, by successfully managing changes in client behaviour, technology, the economy and regulation.
“Being ahead of the curve means continuing to develop our capabilities around delivering automated brokering processes, providing complementary insurance and risk services, delivering leading client segment underwriting solutions and ensuring our centralised capabilities deliver market leading services to our partners.”
Warning of a challenging economy, the economy, in the short-term, is “uncertain and may make trading conditions more difficult.”
The network said organic growth, strengthened by acquisitions, should provide moderate growth in the 2015, but it added: “The extent of that growth will be impacted by the level of future acquisitions and the amount of profit commissions that will be earned.”
In the same report, Austbrokers detailed its end of year financial results. Net profit after tax for the full year ended 30 June 2014, fell 16% to $34.7m as a result of the significant adjustments to the carrying values of associates included in the prior year’s NPAT being higher than those for the current year.
Revenue for the year increased 18.3% to $199m, mainly due to acquisitions, and adjusted net profit after tax crept up 10.5% to $35.5m.
Read the full report here.
