SINGAPORE - Financial services company iFast Corporation’s net profit for the fourth quarter surged 917.1 per cent, on the back of higher revenue, as initial contributions from its ePension division streamed in.
Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31 climbed to $13.2 million from $1.3 million in the year-ago period. On a per-share basis, earnings rose to 4.46 cents, from 0.44 cents a year ago.
A final dividend of 1.4 cents per share was proposed, unchanged from the previous year.
Total revenue for the quarter climbed 69.3 per cent on-year to $82.2 million amid an increase in assets under administration (AUA).
iFast said its AUA rose 13.8 per cent on-year to a record $19.8 billion as at end-2023, driven by net inflows of $2 billion during the year. Net inflows were also positive during the fourth quarter, amounting to $334 million.
For the full year, net profit increased by 340 per cent on-year to $28.3 million, on the back of a 22.8 per cent increase in total revenue to $256.5 million.
“The increase in profitability was driven by initial contributions from the ePension division of the group, as well as improvements in the group’s core wealth management platform business,” iFast said.
“On an overall basis and barring unforeseen circumstances, the group expects 2024 to see robust growth rates in revenues and profitability compared to 2023.”
For the fourth quarter, the group’s non-banking operations saw net revenue increase 94.3 per cent on-year to $53.9 million, while profit before tax (PBT) increased 335 per cent to $19.5 million. Net profit for non-banking operations rose 390.7 per cent year on year in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, banking operations saw net revenue rise 59.9 per cent on-year to $3.3 million.
“The Digital Personal Banking division has had encouraging progress since launch in Q2 2023,” iFast said. “UK residents accounted for about 30 per cent of the deposits, while the rest comes from residents of over 60 countries from around the world.”
The group added that its banking arm is expected to post a reduced loss in 2024, and is targeted to break even by the fourth quarter. The banking business is expected to be “an important growth driver” from 2025 and beyond.
iFast also said it had achieved its 2023 gross revenue targets for its Hong Kong business that were set in April 2022. Meanwhile, its PBT target in Hong Kong was exceeded, with some HK$139 million (S$23.9 million) of PBT, compared with the target of more than HK$100 million.
The company has maintained its PBT targets of HK$250 million in 2024 and HK$500 million in 2025 for the Hong Kong business. However, it has reduced the gross revenue and net revenue targets.
iFast said its three-year plan is to make “solid progress” as a digital banking and wealth management fintech platform with a “truly global business model”; accelerate Hong Kong growth and effectively deliver on ePension services; and effectively develop fintech services that complement its banking and wealth management platforms.
“The ePension division in Hong Kong will be an important growth driver in 2024 and 2025, while the overall wealth management platform is expected to continue to show healthy progress,” iFast said.
Shares of the company fell 1.5 per cent on Feb 21 to close at $7.93, before the results. THE BUSINESS TIMES
