SAI Global business transformation yields results

Information services company SAI Global has made progress with its strategy of expanding its involvement in the property transaction business beyond settlement services.

Last year it launched a service called Settlement Room that would manage the property transaction and conveyancing process from beginning to end, linking all parties.

In July it formed a strategic alliance with the business network software provider Rundl to improve the communications flow in Settlement Room.

SAI Global chief executive Peter Mullins told investors at yesterday's annual results briefing that 8000 solicitors and conveyancers had used Settlement Room.

And last week the company announced that National Australia Bank's NAB Broker unit had signed with SAI Global for national mortgage settlement services.

Mullins said: "The NAB Broker contract is an important next step. They are asking us to do a number of processes that we don't do at the moment. It is an endorsement of what we have done with Settlement Room.

"We will be able to sell that capability to others."

SAI Global is a sponsor of the new electronic conveyancing exchange Pexa and it expects that Settlement Room will be its portal into Pexa.

However, while Pexa gets up and running, Settlement Room will operate in manual as well as electronic formats and will accommodate all or any of the parties involved in a transaction.

SAI Global property services division, where Settlement Room sits, had revenue growth of 1.5 per cent and EBITDA growth of 18.7 per cent for the year to June. EBITDA was A$28.7 million.

Earnings growth was driven by an operational efficiency program that has cut a lot of cost out of the business.

Mullins said the focus for the year ahead was on sales and marketing to increase revenue.

Apart from NAB Broker, recent new business wins include HSBC, Bankwest in Western Australia and Commonwealth Bank in Western Australia.