ADVERTISEMENT

Singapore Wealth Firm iFast's Pre-Tax Profit Declines by 38%

Singapore Wealth Firm iFast's Pre-Tax Profit Declines by 38%

(Bloomberg) -- Wealth-management group iFast Corp. posted a 37.5 percent slide in profit before tax for the year to March 31 as poor financial markets and investments for growth take their toll.

Singapore-based iFast reported a S$1.87 million ($1.37 million) profit, from S$2.99 million a year earlier, according to an April 27 company filing. The fintech company said it expects revenue and profitability to improve in the second half, and continues to position itself to benefit from Asia’s wealth-management sector. After-tax profit dropped 42.5 percent to S$1.55 million.

“As the group is executing its overall strategy, adverse financial market conditions can affect its levels of profitability in the short term,” iFast said in the statement. “However, the group believes that it will benefit from the overall improving scale of its platform in the medium to long term.”

iFast, a fintech platform that provides investment services to high-net worth investors, banks and financial advisory firms, controlled S$8.75 billion in assets at the end of March, rising from S$8.05 billion in the previous quarter. It announced an interim dividend of S$0.75 per share for investors.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ruth Carson in Singapore at rliew6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tan Hwee Ann at hatan@bloomberg.net, Stanley James, James Poole

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.