A third of WT Financial Group’s FY22 revenue is due to it buying Synchron, despite the acquisition happening just before the start of the last quarter.
Releasing its unaudited FY22 results to the ASX on Tuesday morning, the parent company of licensee Wealth Today declared revenue of $103 million of which $35 million was contributed by Synchron.
Wealth Today chief executive Keith Cullen said “the stage is set” for a strong FY23 with the benefit of a full year post-acquisition.
“Importantly, the efficiencies we have gained through the acquisition and integration of both Sentry and Synchron are not only resulting in highly-accretive outcomes for shareholders; they are enabling us to continue to expand our critical support and service offerings to advisers as our industry continues to modernise and as consumer demands for advice grows,” Cullen said.
WTFG acquired Synchron for just under $8 million in March, becoming the largest non-institutionally owned licensee.
Cullen told Professional Planner at the time of the acquisition he will continue to back risk advice as profitable business model.
“We see continued growth in that market and people need professional advice around it because otherwise they’re left at the behest of buying online or from telemarketers,” he said at the time.
He added that commissions are a perfectly valid way for risk advisers to be compensated.
That gamble may have paid off, as the new financial minister Stephen Jones softened his stance on commissions before Labor won the Federal election in May.
Sentry Group was acquired in June 2021, which changed the company’s revenue guidance to $70 million for FY22.
WT Financial Group stated FY21 comparisons should be read in the context of its restructure to a predominately business-to-business focus. Revenue in FY21 before the two acquisitions took place was $13.56 million.
During last year’s results announcement, Cullen said restructuring over the preceding years has meant short-term financial outcomes “have had to take a back seat” to long-term strategy.
“Adopting this approach has however seen us emerge as a disrupter – rather than simply being ourselves disrupted by the incredible structural shifts in the financial advice sector as the profession modernises.”
