The Australian Financial Services Group (AFS Group) announced yesterday that it is on track to hit its target of going public by December 2012.
The dealer group averaged 34 per cent growth in practice income in the past financial year across its 100 practices, defying market trends of losses since the start of the financial crisis.
The group said it had lost 7 per cent in operating revenue, compared with a 30-40 per cent fall in the industry average last year.
Ten million dollars in additional revenue has been added to the group through the acquisition of 20 new practices in the last 12 months.
AFS Group chief executive and managing director Peter Daly said the group has consistently maintained growth, acquiring an average of 20 new practices a year with each practice bringing an approximate $500,000 in additional revenue to the group.
The new revenue inflow represents a "substantial and considerable contribution" to the profit forecast for 2009/10, the company said.
In what Daly describes as a "maverick business model", the AFS Group expanded services and the number of implementation officers to aid its licensed practices in a time where other dealer groups were slashing expenditure heavily.
"In this negative economic environment, far too many dealer groups 'reacted' instead of 'responded' to the situation," Daly said.
"They cut back on their services and resources and in doing so have damaged relationships and lost ground, as reflected by the number of advisers currently seeking better opportunities elsewhere," he said.
Intensified services provided by the AFS Group included the launch of a "summer school" initiative, symposiums, client seminars, and technical and tactical workshops.
"AFS Group has a clear mandate to continue building future sustainable profits from which to drive the dealer group to a potential IPO (initial public offer) by December 2012," Daly said.
