Big superannuation administrator, Link has moved further down the road of floating off its property settlement business, PEXA, after posting a decline in net profit after tax of $65 million.
Link, which is the major shareholder in PEXA, said today that the other shareholders – the Commonwealth Bank and Morgan Stanley – had agreed to explore the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) for the business.
It represents a significant move by Link and the other shareholders in circumstances where PEXA recorded a strong half with a 27% increase in revenue to $99.2 million and a 90% lift in EBITDA to $51.5 million.
Commenting on the broader Link half-year result, the company’s chief executive, Vivek Bhatia said it had successfully navigated some challenging external conditions, demonstrating financial resilience.
He said the group reported EBITDA of $137 million and net operating cash flow of $192 million, having navigated the impacts of Brexit, COVID-19 and superannuation regulatory reforms including Protecting Your Super (PYS), Putting Members Interests First (PMIF) and the Early Release Scheme.
The company said it had handled 2.4 million early release superannuation payments valued at around $18 billion, and had managed contract renewals with Cbus and Hesta.
The Link board declared an interim dividend of 4.5 cents per share 60% franked.
