Publicly-listed financial services group The Trust Company has reported a 7 per cent decline in net profit after tax to $11.7 million for the financial year ended 28 February.
Equity Trustees currently has the company in its sights for an off-market takeover bid.
The company's full-year period announcement came at the same time as it formalised the departure of chief executive John Atkin, and the appointment of its interim chief executive Shailendra Singh who took full leadership responsibilities today.
The company's statement, released the to the Australian Securities Exchange, said its profit had been impacted by non-recurring items during the first half, and that normalised net profit after tax was up 3 per cent from $11.6 million to $12 million.
New chief executive Singh said the company was pleased with the positive momentum demonstrated across the business in the second half of the year.
The corporate client business had delivered another strong performance, he said, while the company had seen increasing momentum in its personal client business, particularly in response to its enhanced investment management capability.
Singh said the outlook for the company in the new financial year was favourable, with positive momentum reflected in its second half results.
Profit growth would be skewed towards the second half due to the seasonality of the business, the timing of initiatives and defence costs relating to the off-market takeover bid by Equity Trustees, according to Singh.
The future of superannuation policy remains uncertain, with further reforms potentially on the horizon as the Albanese government seeks to curb the use of superannuation as a bequest vehicle.
Superannuation funds will have two options for charging fees for the advice provided by the new class of adviser.
The proposed reforms have been described as a key step towards delivering better products and retirement experiences for members, with many noting financial advice remains the “urgent missing piece” of the puzzle.
APRA’s latest data has revealed that superannuation funds spent $1.3 billion on advice fees, with the vast majority sent to external financial advisers.