Steadfast Group has posted underlying net profit after tax of $319.5 million for FY26, up 8.2%, on underlying revenue of $2,104.7 million - delivered as the largest distribution network in Australasia moves towards a change of ownership with its chief executive succession unresolved.
The results were released overnight to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) ahead of a presentation by webcast from Sydney at 11am AEST.
"I am pleased to present our FY26 results, continuing Steadfast's track record of accretive growth since listing in August 2013," CEO Robert Kelly (pictured) said in the market release. "Despite a challenging operating environment, disciplined execution and strong cost management, we delivered solid performance and positioned the business for continued long-term growth."
That closes out a results week in which both listed broker networks reported within 24 hours of each other, and in which the number beside the headline profit figure has been the more instructive one. AUB Group's record underlying result came with $62.7 million in impairment charges attached. Steadfast's comes with a statutory profit line that moved in the opposite direction to the underlying one, and a leadership question that has not been answered.
Steadfast confirmed earlier in 2026 that Kelly, who co-founded the group in 1996 and led its 2013 ASX listing, intended to retire. The annual report states the board had intended to announce a new group chief executive before the FY26 result, but paused the search after Steadfast entered a Process Deed announced on June 10 2026, with Kelly remaining to oversee the potential change of control transaction.
Both internal contenders have since gone. Tim Mathieson, CEO of Australasia Broking ceased employment last month. Mark Senkevics, CEO of Underwriting Agencies, is expected to cease employment at the end of September.
Elsewhere in the leadership group, Hannah Lee was appointed CFO in February and Vicki Allen became chair in November 2025 following the retirement of Frank O'Halloran AM.
Sitting over all of it is the scheme implementation deed signed on August 21 2026 with Amwins Australasia Group and Starboard BidCo, involving Dragoneer Investment Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, at $6.00 per share – a 51.9% premium to the undisturbed closing price of $3.95 on 9 June 2026. The board has unanimously recommended the scheme, absent a superior proposal, with completion targeted for December 2026 subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals.
Statutory net profit after tax was $269.1 million, against $334.9 million in FY25 - a fall of $65.8 million, or 20%, on Steadfast's own Appendix 4E disclosure.
Most of that gap is a base effect rather than a deterioration in the current year. FY25 statutory profit was lifted by a one-time gain of $157.4 million recognised when Steadfast took control of New Zealand broker Rothbury Group - an accounting gain on gaining control, not trading income.
What did weigh on FY26 were non-trading items totalling $50.4 million after tax and non-controlling interests: $27.6 million in write-downs within the portfolio of investments and other movements, $16.2 million in net deferred and contingent consideration expense, and $7.9 million in impairment expense, offset by a net $1.3 million gain relating to Rothbury.
Within that Rothbury figure sits a $15.8 million impairment against the carrying value of the New Zealand business, which Steadfast attributed to a reduction in forecast earnings due to softer than anticipated market conditions in New Zealand. It was offset by a $13.2 million gain from reassessment of deferred consideration and a $13.8 million foreign exchange gain.
The New Zealand read-across between the two networks is worth brokers' attention. AUB flagged margin pressure and declining commission and fee income per client in its New Zealand broking division; Steadfast took a write-down against its New Zealand equity broker. Two different disclosures, same market.
Group-wide, total impairment expense was $24.1 million, down sharply from $139.1 million in FY25. Where AUB's impairments tripled, Steadfast's fell but both sit against the same backdrop: acquisition multiples struck during the hard market now being tested against moderating premium growth.
The scale of that moderation is set out plainly in Steadfast's own FY27 assumptions. Guidance is built on Australian insurance premium pricing rising just 2 to 3%, with underlying NPATA forecast at $382 million to $392 million, underlying EBITA at $700 million to $715 million and underlying diluted earnings per share growth of 4 to 8%.
There is one line where the two networks have diverged. AUB reported premium funding interest income down 11.6% as the rate cycle turned. Steadfast's premium funding interest income rose to $126.9 million from $123.5 million. The comparison is not like-for-like given differing book sizes and structures, but for brokers running their own funding arrangements, the underlying exercise is the same – working out how much of last year's earnings growth came from interest rather than from clients and commission.
Australasian Network gross written premium (GWP) reached $13.2 billion, up 6.2%, across 419 brokerages – 292 in Australia, 71 in New Zealand, 39 in Singapore and 17 across the wider Asia-Pacific. Steadfast holds equity in 62 of them, representing more than 56% of network GWP.
Divisional underlying EBITA grew 13.2%, but 10.5% of that came from step-up and bolt-on acquisitions in existing equity brokers. Organic underlying EBITA growth was 2.7%, attributed to cost management and the broker hubbing strategy that consolidates back-office functions across acquired firms.
Steadfast Underwriting Agencies wrote $2.5 billion of GWP, up 2.3%, across 20 specialist agencies offering more than 100 niche products, and ran a consolidation program during the year.
On technology, $1.6 billion of GWP was written through the Steadfast Client Trading Platform, up 9.7%, with 260 brokers live on INSIGHT and more than 12,500 active users transacting on SCTP across Australia and New Zealand. Steadfast Apps – a unified platform merging SCTP and INSIGHT with claims, compliance and AI-enabled workflow automation – is due in FY27.
The board declared a fully franked final dividend of 12.75 cents per share, up 9.0%, taking total FY26 dividends to 20.95 cents.
For brokers inside the network, the questions now are whether hubbing and platform investment continue at pace under new ownership, who succeeds Kelly and how equity and succession arrangements are treated once the scheme completes.
