Steadfast Group has posted underlying net profit after tax of A$319.5 million for its financial year ended June 30 2026, up 8.2%, in what is likely to be its final full-year result as a listed company before a consortium led by three American firms takes it private.
The results were released to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on August 25 2026, four days after the group signed a binding scheme implementation deed with Amwins Australasia Group and Starboard BidCo, involving Dragoneer Investment Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co, at A$6.00 per share. That is a 51.9% premium to the undisturbed closing price of A$3.95 on June 9 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.
"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."
Underlying revenue reached A$2,104.7 million, up 15.3%, with underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA) of A$669.8 million, up 13.8%. Underlying diluted earnings per share rose 7.7% to 28.8 cents and the board declared a fully franked final dividend of 12.75 cents per share, up 9.0%.
The division carrying Steadfast's American businesses was the fastest-growing part of the result and the smallest. Steadfast International - housing ISU Steadfast, Novum Underwriting Partners and London Lloyd's broker HWS Specialty - delivered underlying EBITA of A$29.8 million, an increase of A$23.9 million. Divisional revenue grew 95.4% and EBITA 400.8%, from a low base.
Steadfast attributed the organic component to growth in ISU Steadfast profit sharing and network membership fees. Acquisition growth came from Novum, in which Steadfast took a 71.75% interest in August 2025, with the annual report describing an exceptional first 10 months' contribution. Two minority equity investments were also made in ISU Steadfast network agencies in the second half — the group's first Trapped Capital investments in the US, its model of buying stakes in member agencies to fund succession and perpetuation.
ISU Steadfast is described in the annual report as approximately 260 members across around 40 states, writing roughly US$7 billion in total premium, with about 70 carrier and wholesaler relationships. Novum is licensed in 48 states with more than 2,000 agencies binding policies through it.
That growth stands against a slower core. Australasian broking underlying EBITA rose 13.2%, but 10.5% came from step-up and bolt-on acquisitions in existing equity brokers, leaving organic growth of 2.7%. The network wrote A$13.2 billion in gross written premium across 419 brokerages, up 6.2%, and underwriting agencies A$2.5 billion, up 2.3%.
Statutory net profit after tax was A$269.1 million against A$334.9 million, a fall of 20% on Steadfast's own Appendix 4E disclosure.
Most of that gap is a base effect. The prior year included a one-time gain of A$157.4 million recognized when Steadfast took control of New Zealand broker Rothbury Group — an accounting gain on gaining control, not trading income. Weighing on the current year were non-trading items totaling A$50.4 million after tax and non-controlling interests, including A$27.6 million in portfolio write-downs and a A$15.8 million impairment against Rothbury's carrying value, attributed to softer than anticipated New Zealand market conditions.
Read next: Steadfast expands into US insurance market
Group-wide impairment expense fell to A$24.1 million from A$139.1 million.
The clearest forward signal is in what Steadfast has assumed. Guidance for the coming year is built on Australian insurance premium pricing rising just 2% to 3%, with underlying EBITA forecast at A$700 million to A$715 million and underlying diluted earnings per share growth of 4% to 8%.
That is post-hard-market compression landing on a group whose growth has been substantially acquisition-led - the same pressure on multiples that US wholesale and retail platforms have been navigating.
An unresolved leadership question sits over the transaction. Kelly, who co-founded Steadfast in 1996 and led its 2013 ASX listing, confirmed earlier this year that he intended to retire. The annual report states the board had intended to name a successor before the FY26 result but paused the search in June after the consortium's approach, with Kelly remaining to oversee the transaction. Both internal contenders have since left, and no successor has been named.
For US agents inside ISU Steadfast, the result does not answer whether the Trapped Capital program and Novum wholesale access survive the change of ownership.
