Good morning, everyone. I'm Michael Tilley, and I'm pleased to welcome you to the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Latitude Group Holdings Limited. I particularly welcome those shareholders who've joined us in the room. It's now 10:00 A.M., and I'm joining you today from Melbourne, and I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we meet today, the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. I pay my respects to their elders, both past, present, and emerging. Under Latitude's constitution, a quorum is required for this meeting, and I've been advised that a quorum is present, therefore, I declare this meeting open. Today's meeting is being held in person, and there is the ability for shareholders to also watch a live webcast of the meeting. To provide sufficient time to vote, I now declare voting open on all items of business.
A significant number of shareholders have already voted, appointed proxies, and submitted questions ahead of this meeting, and we thank them for doing so. I'll start today's meeting by walking you through a few procedural guidelines for voting and question submission. I'll deliver my address and then pass to Bob Belan, our CEO, who will give his address covering Latitude's 2025 performance highlights and financial results. Finally, we'll turn to the formal business of the meeting. Before we begin, I'd like to introduce my fellow Directors and Company Secretary who are also in person with us today. To my left, we have Tiffany Barton, who's our Company Secretary. Next to Tiffany is Alison Ledger, an Independent Non-Executive Director, and Alison is the Chair of the People and Remuneration and the Technology Committees. Next to Alison is Ilfryn Carstairs. Ilfryn's a Non-Executive Director.
He's also a shareholder representative for one of our major shareholders, Värde. To my right, we have Bob Belan, Managing Director and CEO. Julie Raffe, who's an Independent Non-Executive D irector who chairs our Audit Committee, and Philip Busfield, who's a Non-Executive Director, and Philip is the shareholder representative for KKR. I make apologies for Mark Joiner, who's the Chair of our Risk Committee. Mark had surgery late last week and, unfortunately, is unable to fly and therefore couldn't attend today. Also for Beaux Pontak, who's a Non-Executive Director and a representative of Deutsche Bank, another major shareholder of the company. Guillaume Leger, our CFO, and Chris Wooden, the Lead Engagement Partner of our audit at KPMG, are also in attendance and are available to answer questions related to the accounts and conduct of the audit and the auditor's report.
The notice of meeting, dated the 23rd of March 2026, has been distributed to all shareholders and we shall take that as read. By attending our 2026 annual general meeting today, you as a Latitude shareholder or your appointed proxy will have the opportunity to ask questions and vote if you haven't already done so. Voting today will be conducted by way of poll on all items of business, and Computershare will act as the independent returning officer. For those watching the live webcast, you'll not be able to submit votes online. For shareholders, proxies, and corporate representatives in person, you will be able to vote at any time during the AGM by completing the blue voting card that was provided to you upon admission. White cards are for visitors who cannot vote or ask questions today.
Shareholders with pink cards are not entitled to vote on the items of business. I'll provide a warning before I move to close voting at the end of the meeting. Thank you to those shareholders who've submitted questions in advance of the meeting today. It is my duty as Chairman to ensure that shareholders have the opportunity to both ask questions and discuss the items of business during the meeting. We ask that all questions and comments be concise, be confined to the particular item being discussed and to matters relevant to shareholders as a whole, and be informative and respectful. Only shareholders validly appointed proxies and corporate representatives who were given a blue or pink voting card upon entry are entitled to ask questions. When I call for questions, please raise your blue or pink card and state your name or the organization you represent before asking your question.
I'll now move to my address. For the past three years, your company has diligently followed a strategic path aimed at building a focused, leaner, and ultimately more profitable business that can deliver lasting value for many years to come. The strong financial performance delivered by your company in 2025 is directly attributable to this strategic work. Work which has recently entered its second phase, as I will outline shortly. It has ensured that we are well placed to capitalize on market conditions last year, including renewed demand for credit across a variety of household segments. As a result, cash net profit after tax rose to AUD 105 million in 2025. That was up 59% from 2024. On the back of record purchase and lending volumes, expanding margins, and the highest gross receivables we've seen in five years.
Combined with our strong balance sheet, the result meant the group's tangible equity ratio closed the year at 7.1%, in line with our 6%-7% target range. Pleasingly, this enabled the board to declare a second half 2025 dividend of AUD 0.05 per share, fully franked, following a AUD 0.04 per share unfranked dividend in the first half of 2025. Your company also further strengthened its balance sheet and funding program during the year, ensuring it is well-positioned for further growth and to navigate the ongoing global economic uncertainty caused by events in the Middle East, and the effects that this is having on fuel prices and other supply chains closer to home. Latitude continues to actively manage its capital structure and effectively deploy excess cash, including through the buyback in 2025 of 11 million of perpetual capital notes, which were first issued in 2021.
Last month, your company announced a further Capital Notes 2 offer, including a reinvestment offer for existing Capital Notes 1 holders. I'm pleased to report that despite the dislocation in markets from the turmoil in the Middle East, the Capital Notes 2 offer has raised approximately AUD 130 million after receiving strong support from investors. The strategy underpinning Latitude's 2025 result has, till late last year, focused on executing the basics brilliantly well, while building strong, sustainable foundations for growth in our core segments of credit cards, sales finance, and personal and auto loans in the markets we know best, that is Australia and New Zealand. With those foundations now in place, the board, last November, endorsed a new strategy called Bridge to the Future, which is phase II of Latitude's Path to Full Potential.
This looks to extend the fundamentals by taking the best of what we've built and embedding it universally across the business, deliver sustained asset growth through deepening our existing partnerships, expanding into near adjacent categories to enable our customers to enjoy such things as more travel, better healthcare, and enhancing our traditional offerings. Finally, to eliminate legacy technology to reduce costs, underpin growth, and modernize at greater speed. The rate of technology advancement is continuing to speed up, and the useful life of technology platforms is reducing at a very rapid rate.
Enhanced productivity and customer experience with AI to improve efficiency and deliver materially enhanced customer services and experience is a core focus of the business to enable us to further strengthen credit and risk management capabilities, including via a renewed focus on operational excellence, and by continuing to raise the bar on security and reliability in an ever more global, more complex, and more legalistic operating environment. This work will enable us to evolve with changes impacting our marketplace, including to lift performance across key volume and operational metrics, and best serve our 1.8 million customers, people who come from all walks of life across Australia and New Zealand, and also to best serve our many partners. These partners include some of the most iconic retailers in Australia and New Zealand. They help form our unrivaled network of more than 5,500 online and physical outlets.
The hundreds of brokers who help connect our customers with the right personal or auto loan, our growing list of international and local debt investors, and of course, our shareholders. I thank them all for their ongoing support and belief in our company. On behalf of the board, I also commend our CEO, Bob Belan, and all of the Latitude management team and staff for their unflagging commitment to our customers and partners, all the while helping to drive significant change to our operations and the quality of our services. The board looks forward to working together with our many investors, partners, and customers for many years to come, and in seeing Latitude achieve its fullest potential. I'll now hand over to Bob Belan, our CEO, for his opening remarks. Thank you.
Thank you, Chair. Welcome, shareholders, to Latitude's 2026 AGM. Good morning to everyone here, and thank you for joining us to those who are online. As Mike outlined, 2025 was a strong year for Latitude, with cash NPAT of AUD 105 million, up 59% on the prior year. This performance reflects momentum that has been building across the business for several reporting periods now, underpinned by consistent execution, operating discipline, and a clear focus on high-impact initiatives that are aligned to our phase I Path to Full Potential strategy.
This progress is evident across our FY 2025 key metrics. Credit card transactions and new loan volumes grew to a record AUD 9.1 billion last year, up 10%, and gross receivables increased 7% to AUD 7.2 billion, their highest levels in five years. Operating income rose 15% to AUD 839 million, and cost income ratio further improved to 43.1% on a normalized basis.
Revenue margins also strengthened, driven by targeted pricing actions and lower funding costs, which benefited from central bank rate cuts, and importantly, from the continued optimization of our treasury program throughout the year. Turning to the individual business lines, our money division delivered record receivables of AUD 3.3 billion, up 10%, driven by AUD 1.6 billion in new lending. That growth reflects product innovation, increased marketing investment, and the benefit of stronger partnerships across our broad broker network. We also reinforced our position as the number two personal lender in Australia, behind only Commonwealth Bank, and the number one personal lender in the New Zealand market. In our pay division, we remain focused on differentiating our product value propositions, and this included the launch of the Latitude Rewards program, which enables customers to accumulate points for purchases and earn more value back.
Customer demand for our products last year was strong, reflected in record applications, higher purchase volumes, and higher receivables balances. Our retail partner network continues to be a key competitive strength and strategic advantage for the company. Over the past year, we explored, expanded that network with partners like E&S Trading and Adairs Retail Group, and also extended our longstanding relationship with Harvey Norman and realized the full year benefit of our partnership with David Jones. We also began to broaden our reach into adjacent segments. Partnerships with Webjet and Dental Boutique reflect a deliberate move into new categories, which we're now formalizing through the creation of our Enterprise Growth Division, led by the newest member of my executive team, Stefano Tognon.
Stefano's team is building and scaling our presence in areas like health and wellness and home services, while also piloting new products and propositions across the group more broadly. As we've grown, we've remained disciplined on costs. We delivered another 800 basis points of improvement in our cost income ratio on a normalized basis, creating capacity to reinvest in new technologies, in marketing, and innovations that support better customer and partner outcomes. Our FY 2025 results reflect a business that is not just growing, but doing so on stronger and more sustainable foundations. As the Chair mentioned, we are now well positioned to move into phase II of our strategy, Bridge to the Future. This next phase prioritizes driving strong but disciplined asset growth, modernizing our technology platforms, and leveraging AI to improve efficiency and customer experience.
Importantly, we will continue to evolve our credit and operational risk management capabilities and work towards further extending our leadership position across our core markets. Execution is already underway across each of these important priorities. Latitude and its predecessor brands have supported Australians and New Zealanders for more than a century. Throughout that time, the company's mission has remained consistent: to make it possible for our customers and our partners with financing solutions in the moments that matter. Our focus is on continuing to strengthen how we deliver on that for the years and decades ahead. Finally, I'd like to thank you, our shareholders, for your continued support. I also want to thank our highly committed Board of Directors for their guidance, and also my executive team and Latitude colleagues more broadly for the dedication and hard work that's underpinned all that's been achieved.
I'll now turn it back to our Chairman.
Thank you, Bob. Before I move on, I'd like to make an apology. Our Lead Auditor is not Chris Wooden, it's Beenish. I apologize, Beenish, and welcome. Hopefully next year we'll get the script right. Ladies and gentlemen, we'll now turn to the business of the meeting. Before we move to the agenda items, I'd now like to address any questions in relation to the presentation I gave today or any other business of the company. Are there any questions? Okay, thank you. Prior to the commencement of today's meeting, valid votes have been received representing approximately 88% of the issued capital of Latitude. On the screen, you can now see the proxy votes received prior to the meeting for each resolution.
While the Chair of the meeting has been nominated as a shareholder's proxy, all undirected proxy votes will be voted in favor of the resolutions. There are voting restrictions for some resolutions, and these are outlined in the notice of meeting. They apply to those who have an interest in the resolutions and their related parties or associates. The first item of business is to receive and consider the annual financial report, together with the Directors' and Auditors' reports for the year ended 31st of December 2025. A copy of which has been previously provided to shareholders. There is no requirement for shareholders to vote on these reports, but they are open for discussion and questions. Do we have any questions on the first item of business, consideration of the financial statements and reports?
There being no questions, we come to the items of business for which voting is required. Item two relates to the adoption of the remuneration report. The resolution being put to the meeting is displayed on the screen. Please note that a vote on this resolution is advisory only and does not bind the directors or the company. Are there any questions or comments in relation to this resolution? There being no questions, please record your vote now if you've not already voted. Item three relates to the re-election of Ms. Alison Ledger as a Director. Details of Alison's qualifications, career, experience, and other interests are set out in the notice of meeting and the directors' report. I'd now like to hand over to Alison to speak with you about what she brings to the collective capability of the board. Alison.
Thanks, Mike. It's a privilege to stand before you today seeking your support for re-election as a Non-Executive Director of Latitude. It's been an honor to serve on the Board and to Chair the Technology and the People and Remuneration Committees during an important period for the company. I believe effective directors bring both independence of judgment and relevant contemporary experience. In addition to my role with Latitude, I currently serve as Chair of the Board of Audinate Group Limited, a global technology company listed on the ASX. I also serve as Non-Executive Director of Auto & General, a large general insurance company, and Count Limited, an ASX listed financial advice and wealth management business, providing oversight in sectors where customer trust, regulatory discipline, digital transformation, and sound capital management are critical. These roles give me current and practical insight across technology, financial services, and customer-focused businesses.
Experience that is directly relevant to Latitude as it continues to evolve its products, strengthen operations, and pursue growth opportunities. They also reinforce the importance of balancing strategic ambition with prudent oversight, robust governance, and shareholder accountability. As a Non-Executive Director of Latitude, I've sought to apply this breadth of experience to support management constructively, to challenge thoughtfully where appropriate, and to help guide decisions that enhance long-term shareholder value. If re-elected, I will continue to bring energy, independence, and strong commitment to serving all shareholders. I'll work collaboratively with my fellow directors, and with the management team to help Latitude build on its strength and create enduring value. Thank you for your continued support and engagement. I respectfully ask for your support for my re-election today.
Thank you, Alison. I can't overemphasize too much just how much work is involved in being Chair of the Remuneration Committee. It's something you have to love and Alison does an amazing job and we're very grateful for the effort that she puts in. I'd also say Alison, very modest, because I think the proxies suggest that you might have some support. The resolution being put to the meeting is displayed on the screen. Are there any questions or comments in relation to this resolution? There being no questions, would you please record your vote now if you've not already voted. Item 3B relates to the election of Ms. Julie Raffe as a Director. Details of Julie's qualifications, career, experience, and other interests are set out in the notice of meeting and the directors' report.
I'll now hand over to Julie to speak to you about what she brings to the collective capability of the board. Over to you, Julie.
Thank you, Mike. Hello, everyone. I have a long experience in being the CFO of a global ASX-listed company, in a very high growth environment. I'm a Chartered Accountant, I'm a Fellow of FINSIA, and I'm also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. My key experience is in risk, governance, strategy, and capital management. As such, I chair the Audit Committee for Latitude. I also chair the Audit and Risk Committee for another ASX-listed company, Ridley Corporation. Recently, I also chaired the Due Diligence Committee for the issue of the recent capital notes. I thank you for your consideration and look forward to another few years as Director of Latitude. Thank you.
Thank you, Julie. Again, the board has unanimously supported the re-election of both Alison and Julie. Julie as Chair of the Audit Committee, another reasonably thankless, difficult role and we're very grateful for the contribution that Julie makes and for keeping everyone, including all of us that are both directors and shareholders, safe in this increasingly difficult regulatory and litigious world. The resolution is being put to the meeting is displayed on the screen, I'd open up for questions. Are there any comments or questions in relation to this resolution? There being no questions, please record your vote if you've not already voted. Item four relates to the approval of the proposed Latitude Capital Notes issuance. The resolution seeks approval of the maximum issuance permitted under Latitude's 15% placement, which is approximately AUD 140 million. Approval is not required for the issue of the notes.
Rather, it provides the company with the flexibility to issue further capital under ASX Listing Rule 7.1, should it elect to do so in the next 12 months. Just a little bit of background. The ASX has a restriction that companies can't issue more than 15% of their voting shares in any 12-month period. Because the capital notes have a right of conversion into equity, at different times in their life, they are treated as an issuance of equity, even though that hasn't happened yet. We're asking shareholders to support the renewal of that provision to enable us to have the flexibility to issue up to 15% of the capital of the company if needs require. There is no issue in contemplation at the moment, or nothing that the board is aware of that might lead to one.
It's meeting a requirement of the ASX. I note that the company announced on the 27th of March, 2026, that the offer of capital notes will seek to raise AUD 130 million, with capacity to raise more or less. Latitude has also released information on how the notes convert into ordinary shares, consistent with the terms of the prospectus, which was released to the ASX on the 24th of March, 2026. The resolution being put to the meeting is displayed on the screen. Are there any questions or comments in relation to this resolution? There being no questions, please record your vote now if you've not already voted. Ladies and gentlemen, that now concludes our discussion on the items of business. In a couple of minutes, I plan to close the voting. Please ensure that you've cast your vote on all resolutions.
I'll pause for a moment to allow you to finalize your votes and for Computershare to collect any outstanding voting cards. Right. Thank you, everyone. Voting is now closed. The voting results from this meeting will be released to the ASX and posted in the investor relations section of the Latitude website, which is www.latitudefinancial.com, later today. That concludes our meeting. Thank you for taking the time to join the directors and myself today. Your ongoing support is greatly appreciated, and feel free to join us for tea and coffee now. Thank you.