Perpetual’s 140 per cent profit boost

Perpetual has moved solidly back into the black, recording a 140 per cent increase in net profit after tax for the last financial year to $90.5 million, rewarding shareholders with a final dividend of 105 cents per share.

The company attributed the increase to a combination of recovering markets and the implementation of Perpetual’s growth strategy.

Much of the result was driven by a strong performance by the company’s private wealth division, where funds under advice increased by 22 per cent, helped by the acquisition of Grosvenor Financial Services and Fordham Business Advisers, which resulted in a 12 per cent increase in profit before tax to $32.6 million.

The company said Perpetual had grown its presence and capabilities in the high-net-worth advice sector and the business was being positioned as a leading provider of wealth management services to successful Australians and their families.

The result will see Perpetual’s chief executive, David Deverall, departing the company on a happier note than was previously likely to be the case, prompting him to describe it as a solid result “demonstrating the positive impact of cost control measures on our operating leverage and our continued ability to generate strong investment performance”.

Perpetual chairman Bob Savage said the company was continuing its search for a replacement for Deverall as chief executive and would update the market in due course.