Manx Financial Group PLC, the AIM listed Isle of Man based financial services group, has announced its interim results.
The Group, which includes Conister Bank Limited and Edgewater Associates Limited, recorded a profit of £1.01 million for the first six months of the year, another record figure that improves upon the £0.76 million for the same period in 2014.
The Group’s total assets stand at £126.17 million (2014: £101.68 million) and shareholder equity stands at £10.89 million (2014: £9.25 million), a growth of 24 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
On an annualised basis, the Group’s return on equity at 16.3 per cent shows a continued improvement (2014 full year: 15.6 per cent).
The Group’s growth has been driven by the continued success of its two main Isle of Man based operating subsidiaries, Conister Bank Limited and Edgewater Associates Limited. But the Group says it is balancing this growth with a strategy that includes looking for suitable acquisitions, opportunities, and partnerships in the market.
This strategy has led to the Group incubating several new businesses over the last 12 months. These include commercial foreign exchange broking, retail and commercial loan broking, and alternative payments solutions, as well as Manx Financial Limited, a partnership providing finance into specialist markets.
Conister Bank continues to grow its loan book and interest income, by 17 per cent and 31 per cent respectively.
The bank’s managing director, Juan Kelly, said: ‘We are really pleased with these results which come at an important time for the island with the financial services sector undergoing significant change. We believe Conister Bank has a critical role to play in the sustainable development of the island’s economy.
‘We anticipate continued strong growth in the coming years, driven by the ongoing expansion of our product range and our leadership in customer empowerment.’
Edgewater Associates Limited improved its financial performance with earnings increasing six times compared with the same period last year. Edgewater’s managing director, Sandra Cardwell, said: ‘The recent business restructuring has borne considerable fruit, with substantial increases in assets under management and associated fee income. Our strategy has been to focus on providing a superior level of service to our clients while increasing our annual income stream, and reducing the potential volatility of our book of business.
‘Operational costs have been significantly reduced, through a streamlining of process and services without affecting the overall customer experience; indeed, over the next year, in addition to our move to the Group headquarters, we will be looking to enhance our IT systems and will continue to increase our team through recruitment of IFAs and client managers.’