Praemium posts $3.3 million loss amid restructure


Portfolio administration firm Praemium has announced a $3.3 million net loss before tax for the first half of the 2011/12 financial year.
The majority of the loss was attributable to the UK subsidiary of the company, which posted a $3.2 million net loss before tax.
Praemium also wrote-off $221,000 "due to the UK subsidiary not yet being in a position to repay interest on intercompany loan balances".*
The loss includes a one-off cost of $1.2 million for a restructure announced in September last year aimed at reducing costs throughout the business.
According to the director's report for the half year ended 31 December 2011, the restructure is "nearing completion" and is expected to result in annualised savings of "approximately $3 million", or a 16 per cent reduction in the 2010/11 financial year cost base.
After one-off costs were taken into account, Praemium's half year loss was $1.84 million - a 15 per cent improvement on the half year to December 2010.
Praemium chief executive Michael Ohanessian said the company had "effectively halved its cash burn" following the restructure.
"The profitability of the Australian business is now in a much stronger position, which allows us to focus on longer term strategic opportunities," Ohanessian said.
The company was also eagerly anticipating the regulatory changes taking place in 2012 in both Australia and the UK, he added.
* Correction: This article originally stated, incorrectly, that Praemium wrote off $221 million.
Recommended for you
In this episode of Relative Return, host Laura Dew is joined by Andrew Lockhart, managing partner at Metrics Credit Partners, to discuss the attraction of real estate debt and why it can be a compelling option for portfolio diversification.
In this week’s episode of Relative Return Unplugged, AMP’s chief economist, Shane Oliver, joins us to break down Labor’s budget, focusing on its re-election strategy and cost-of-living support, and cautioning about the long-term impact of structural deficits, increased government spending, and potential risks to productivity growth.
In this episode of Relative Return, host Laura Dew chats with Mark Barnes, head of investment research, and Catherine Yoshimoto, director of product management, from FTSE Russell about markets in Donald Trump's second presidency and how US small caps are faring compared to their large-caps counterpart.
In this episode of Relative Return Unplugged, we examine the push for superannuation tax reforms aimed at saving $10 billion annually, as well as the immense pressure being placed on Treasurer Jim Chalmers ahead of the budget and Deloitte’s warning of a $26.1 billion deficit.