iFast Corporation AIY has reported total earnings of $14.5 million for the 1QFY2024 ended March 31, almost five times its earnings of $3.0 million for the corresponding period the year before.
Total revenue rose by 59.4% y-o-y to $86.0 million, driven by contributions from the group’s ePension division, as well as improvements in the group’s core wealth management platform business.
Earnings per share (EPS) for the 1QFY2024 came to 4.74 cents on a fully diluted basis, compared to the EPS of 0.99 cents in 1QFY2023.
As at 31 March, iFast’s assets under administration (AUA) grew 16.0% y-o-y to a record high $21.05 billion, driven by net inflows of $0.69 billion during the quarter.
In the 3QFY2023, iFast’s revenue for non-banking operations grew by 37.9% y-o-y to $38.4 million while its profit before tax surged by 141.8% y-o-y to $13.3 million.
iFast Global Bank, which adopts a conservative stance in terms of its balance sheet strategy, saw its customer deposit amounts grow 43.7% q-o-q to $515.43 million as at March 31.
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Meanwhile, iFast Group is steadily increasing its capability and presence as a global digital banking and wealth management group, with iFast Global Bank as part of its global fintech ecosystem.
The group says it expects iFast Global Bank to become an important growth driver in 2025 and beyond, while its ePension division in Hong Kong will be an important growth driver in 2024 and 2025.
iFast’s overall wealth management platform is expected to continue to show healthy progress, with 2024 anticipated to see robust growth rates in revenues and profitability compared to 2023.
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Cash and cash equivalents stood at $452.5 million as at March 31.
iFast has declared a first interim dividend of 1.3 cents per share for 1QFY2024, compared to 1.0 cents last year. The dividend will be paid on June 7.
Shares in iFast closed 9 cents lower or 1.28% down at $6.94 on April 25.
