Count (ASX:CUP) outlined a strong first-half performance for FY2026, pointing to momentum across its three operating segments—wealth, equity partnerships and services—and citing operating leverage, disciplined cost management and continued acquisition activity as key drivers.
Financial highlights and dividend increase
Managing Director and CEO Hugh Humphrey said the first-half result represented the “clearest and strongest validation” of the company’s strategy to date, describing progress against what he calls the “Count flywheel,” where growth in one segment is intended to reinforce growth in others.
Count declared an interim dividend of AUD 0.02 per share, fully franked, an increase of 14%. CFO Keith Leon said dividends continue to be funded from operating cash flows and reiterated the company’s target payout policy of 60%–90% of maintainable NPATA attributable to shareholders for the full year.
Wealth scale and recurring revenue emphasis
Management repeatedly emphasized wealth as the group’s growth engine. Humphrey said Count is increasingly capturing wealth revenue across three parts of the value chain—client fee revenue, licensing revenue and investment solutions revenue—to diversify participation in the market.
For the 12-month period referenced on the call, Count said:
- Funds under advice increased to AUD 40.2 billion, up 11%.
- Funds under management increased to AUD 5.3 billion, up 49%.
- Care funds under management increased by AUD 853 million over the calendar year.
Humphrey said 157 firms are now using Count Investment Solutions, which he framed as both validation of the proposition and a contributor to advisor productivity and client engagement. He also said Count has “nearly 80” financial planners across its equity partnerships and expects further M&A and advisor recruitment into its employed advice channel.
On mix shift, Humphrey said total wealth revenues (including financial advice and client fees from the equity partnership segment) now represent about 40% of group revenue and roughly 46% of group EBITDA, up from 32% in FY2023.
Segment performance: Wealth, Equity Partnerships, Services
Humphrey said all three segments delivered growth in the half, with wealth the standout. He said wealth FUM growth was supported by ongoing Care adoption and the successful transition of Count Portfolios in-house. He also noted that higher gross business earnings with advisors contributed to “higher than expected” licensee revenues, helping to “appropriately reward the licensing risk” carried in that business line.
In equity partnerships, Count reported revenue up 24% and EBITDA up 12%. Humphrey said financial advice fees now represent roughly AUD 0.25 in a dollar of segment revenue, with accounting at about AUD 0.75, and argued the mix highlights further opportunity to grow advice revenue inside the equity partnership network. He also acknowledged short-term margin compression at some firms, driven by system upgrades and transaction costs linked to acquisition activity, which he said should normalize as investments are absorbed.
Services was described as stable with modest growth, supported by increased outsourcing demand and cross-sell. Humphrey said services EBITDA margins remained around 30% despite integration costs associated with the McGing transaction. He also flagged that about AUD 1.1 million of intercompany services revenue is eliminated for accounting purposes.
Leon added that Count eliminated AUD 1.7 million of inter-entity revenues in 1H FY2026, including the AUD 1.1 million in services.
Cash flow, costs, and adjustments
Leon said operating cash flow increased materially versus the prior corresponding period, with EBITDA-to-operating-cash conversion around 90%. He said strong cash generation helped reduce debt and increase funding headroom, giving flexibility for targeted M&A while maintaining a healthy balance sheet. He also said proactive cash and capital management reduced interest costs.
On statutory versus underlying performance, Leon said statutory EBITDA rose 50% to AUD 18.7 million. He noted one-off adjustments, with the majority related to the WSC transaction due to the accounting treatment of a AUD 1.3 million gain on sale of WSC equity holdings and recognition of deferred consideration related to a Diverger subsidiary acquisition prior to Count’s ownership. Leon also said this was the first set of results providing a clean 12-month comparison for the company following the Diverger acquisition.
Responding to an investor question on transaction expenses and normalization, Leon said Count’s typical policy is to include “BAU” acquisition costs for tuck-ins within underlying figures, only calling out items where there has been a significant increase. He said McGing was unusual for the group, but not significant enough to be treated as a major one-off, and added the company expects to continue pursuing bolt-on acquisitions in equity partnerships and services.
Outlook priorities and strategic targets
Looking ahead, Humphrey said Count’s priorities are to:
- Add employed planners and scale financial advice revenue
- Execute disciplined, accretive M&A
- Accelerate uptake of investment solutions
- Drive deeper uptake of services (including outsourcing, IT, and education) across the network
He said robotics and AI are embedded in the growth plan, with “numerous live use cases” improving productivity, client capacity and compliance, while also noting the company is monitoring AI-related disruption risks, including the need to evolve specialist tax services and training businesses such as Knowledge Shop and TaxBanter.
Humphrey also set a goal to grow funds under management to AUD 10 billion within five years, supported by continued adoption of managed accounts and related education and productivity benefits.
On M&A cadence, management said activity remains strong. Humphrey noted Count closed nine transactions during the half—about one every three weeks—while Leon said the company has substantial inbound deal flow, with multiple non-binding term sheets in progress at any time. Management said it expects continued focus on financial planning tuck-in acquisitions and also highlighted strategic interest in expanding the employed financial planner channel.
In Q&A, Humphrey also provided an update on the class action involving Commonwealth Bank as a shareholder, noting the case had been dismissed with a win for the bank and the group, and that an appeal is scheduled to be heard by three judges toward the end of March. He said any decisions regarding the bank’s shareholding remain a matter for the bank.
About Count (ASX:CUP)
Count Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides accounting, business advisory, and financial planning services in Australia. The company operates through Accounting, Financial Planning, Financial Services, and Other segments. It offers tax, assurance, audit, and corporate advisory services; financial planning; loans commission, and leasing commission services; and information technology, legal, conference, and insurance services. The company was formerly known as CountPlus Limited and changed its name to Count Limited in May 2023.
