Cost blowout hits OzForex bottom line
A 50 per cent increase in operating expenses spoiled what was otherwise a good result for money services business OzForex in the six months to September.OzForex reported a 16 per cent increase in active customers, compared with the previous corresponding period, a 17 per cent increase in transaction numbers and a 15 per cent increase in the average transaction value.Net operating income rose 29 per cent to A$53.6 million.However, expenses rose 51.4 per cent to $37.5 million. As a result, profit for the half was down 6.3 per cent to $11.2 million. Cash flow from operating activities fell from $14.7 million to $11.3 million.OzForex chief financial officer Mark Ledsham said the company incurred some one-off costs, including M&A activity and chief executive succession costs. The lower Australian dollar also had an impact, with 50 per cent of the company's operating expenses in other currencies.The company has added staff in a number of departments, it has an active technology investment program and it has introduced an incentive remuneration program. Compliance and regulatory costs increased sharply.On an underlying basis expenses were up 37.7 per cent and on a constant currency basis they were up 26.2 per cent.Underlying net profit rose 12 per cent to $12.3 millionLedsham said revenue would grow faster than expenses in the 2017 and 2018 financial years.The company reported growth in all its business segments. Net operating income grew 29 per cent in Australia and New Zealand, 25 per cent in Europe, 57 per cent in North America, 35 per cent in Asia and 15 per cent in the wholesale business.OzForex chief executive Richard Kimber said the company's rebranding was proceeding according to plan and it would start trading as OFX in Australia by the end of this year. Other markets will follow next year.The company will move to weekend trading by the end of the year and has lowered its minimum transaction size to $250.Kimber said one of the most pleasing aspects of the result was the high level of repeat business. Clients who first transacted before 2010 made up a significant percentage of transaction volume during the half."Repeat customers are a core asset," Kimber said.Apart from the cost blowout, another disappointing aspect of the result was the low standard of the financial reporting. There was no mention of statutory results in the presentation pack and no attempt to reconcile statutory results with the company's preferred measures, such as underlying NPAT and underlying EBDTA. The company is clearly in breach of ASIC's regulatory guide RG 230, which sets out requirements for statutory and non-statutory reporting.