eChoice still finding its feet

Mortgage company eChoice is yet to regain business momentum after completing a major transformation over the past year. Loan settlement volumes in the year to June were flat, the value of the loan book declined and revenue was well down.

eChoice (formerly Firstfolio) was in a state of flux for several years, after an ill-timed acquisition spree left the company with a heavy debt load just as a downturn in the mortgage market cut into revenue.

Last year the company was able to resolve its debt problems and under a new chief executive, Peter Andronicos, set about restructuring the business.

The company got out of wholesale lending altogether and is now an aggregator. It has revived its broker training program, beefed up its marketing and invested in technology.

And in June it achieved funding certainty when it secured an extension of senior debt facility, taking it out to 2018.

The company reported a loss of A$21.1 million for the 12 months to June, compared with a loss of $4.1 million in 2013/14.

The result was affected by a $19.8 million write-down of intangible assets, reflecting "the removal of historical business structures and strategies that are no longer being pursued." These include an asset finance business and parts of the wholesale mortgage origination business.

In a media release issued yesterday the company focused on its cash operating EBITDA, which was $9.8 million - down 12.7 per cent on the 2013/14 result.

One of the company's goals is to reduce net debt by $5 million a year. It missed the mark; net debt at the reporting date was $54.4 million, compared with $56.3 per cent in June last year.

There were some other disappointments. Settlements volumes were flat at $3 billion (in a market where average settlements rose around 15 per cent) and the value of the loan book fell 5.1 per cent to $17.3 billion.

The company conceded in its financial report that "this relative weakness follows a loss of operational focus in calendar 2014 while the consolidated entity was examining recapitalisation proposals."

Revenue was down 13.7 per cent to $67.8 million.