Advice business boosts Countplus revenue

Financial planning revenue, which made up 24 per cent of total net revenue for Countplus in the period, was primarily driven by an increased benefit from non-recurring loyalty payments made by the Commonwealth Bank to Count Financial franchisees.

Overall, Countplus reported a net profit after tax of $6.78 million for the half-year, up 12.5 per cent on the prior corresponding period.

After the negative performance of Lawrence Business Management Group (which was sold in December 2013) is taken into account, Countplus' group operating profit increased by 12.8 per cent.

Total net revenue for the half-year was $52.1 million (up 5.6 per cent); basic earnings per share were 6.14 cents (up 12.4 per cent) and first quarterly 3 cent dividend has been declared payable on 15 May 2014.

However, a statement on the ASX acknowledged that the company would not meet its November 2013 market guidance of 20 per cent earnings per share growth due to the "challenging operating conditions".

The directors of the company still expect earnings per share growth to exceed 10 per cent.

Countplus is an aggregation of 20 businesses and their subsidiaries across Australia. The group includes 17 accounting/business advisory firms, one financial planning specialist, a property services group and a financial planning dealer group.