I would now like to hand the conference over to your Chair today, Mr. Wayne Spanner. Please go ahead.
Thank you, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. The time is just gone 9:30 A.M., and the Company Secretary has confirmed we have a quorum, and accordingly I open and welcome you to the Resimac 2025 Annual General Meeting. On behalf of your directors, I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the traditional custodians of the land on which we are meeting here, and pay my respects to their elders past, present, and emerging. The notice of the meeting, together with the 2025 financial annual report, has been distributed to shareholders in the required time frame established by our regulators. My name is Wayne Spanner, and I'm your Company's Chairman. I'm joined here this morning by my non-executive director colleagues, Susan Hansen, Warren McLeland, and Caroline Waldron. Duncan Saville will be joining us in a few minutes.
Also with us this morning is Heather Baister, our audit partner representing Deloitte. Heather is available to answer any questions shareholders may have in relation to our audited financial statements. I also welcome the presence of a select group of our executives, including Pete Lirantzis, Resimac's CEO, James Spurway, CFO, Andrew Marsden, Chief Treasury Officer, and Peter Fitzpatrick, our Company Secretary. Pete, James, Andrew, and Peter are available to respond to any questions from shareholders in relation to their specific areas of responsibility. I extend a very warm welcome to our key stakeholders in Resimac's ongoing success, including representatives from our key partner bankers, our private and institutional investors, both domestic and international, in our securitized bonds, and our growing number of equity investors in our ordinary shares.
Before I provide my Chairman's address to the meeting, I would like to advise that the notice of meeting has been sent to all shareholders and lodged with the Australian Securities Exchange on 17 October 2025. It's also been made available on the Resimac Group Ltd. website and hosted on the share registry website since that date. I will take the notice of meeting as read. The minutes of the last meetings of the shareholders of the Company, which was the Annual General Meeting held on 19 November 2024, have been reviewed by the Board and signed by me as Chairman on 29 January 2025. The minutes are with the Company Secretary and available for inspection. Shareholders will be asked to consider three resolutions at this meeting.
As Chairman of the Meeting, I exercise my right pursuant to the Constitution of Resimac Group Ltd to request a poll on these resolutions. In order to provide you with enough time to vote, I will ask the registry representative to open voting and to poll all resolutions now. The login instructions for the online voting portal are detailed in the notice of meeting and online voting guide. I will then read out the resolutions and allow time for shareholders to ask questions on the resolutions. You may vote on any resolution at any time before I close the poll at the end of the meeting. I will now proceed with my Chairman's address.
As the Chairman appointed following last year's Annual General Meeting, I have focused this past year on engaging with our leadership team, reviewing strategic priorities, and ensuring Resimac is equipped to meet the demands of a dynamic lending environment. FY25 marks a significant milestone. We proudly celebrate Resimac's 40th year. Our 40 years of operation provide us with a strong foundation from which to pursue future growth in an efficient manner. We will leverage this extensive experience and our AUD 15 billion loan book and our established market leadership in securitization. This was a year when the stabilizing macroeconomic backdrop, characterized by easing monetary policy and improving inflation dynamics, assisted recovery across our core segments. We were and remain encouraged by the early signs of renewed mortgage demand in the Australian economy, which we expect to translate into future growth for Resimac.
I'd like some comments in relation to our performance in the FY25 year and the discipline of capital management. The Group delivered a relatively good financial result for FY25, delivering a 13% increase in normalized operating profit before impairment and tax of AUD 78.6 million, despite some of the challenges we faced. We achieved renewed momentum in the underlying business and reported a 12.5% return on equity in the second half of FY25. We saw strong organic growth across both mortgages and asset finance, with higher mortgage settlements and asset finance assets under management. The central focus of the Board this year was a disciplined capital management, resulting in significant return to shareholders. The total dividend paid was AUD 0.19 per share. This comprised a AUD 0.035 per share interim dividend and AUD 0.035 per share final dividend, and AUD 0.12 per share special dividend declared in June 2025.
The special dividend was a result of comprehensive strategic review of the Group's operating assets and capital requirements, which determined that there was surplus capital not essential for supporting the Group's strategic objectives. Furthermore, the sale of the surplus non-core ASX-listed financial assets realized a gain of AUD 6.4 million. Strategic growth and our key acquisition. FY25 was highlighted by an important strategic acquisition that markedly increased AUM and customer numbers. We successfully completed the acquisition and integration of the Westpac Auto Finance Portfolio in March. We believe this is evidence of our positive attitude towards future diversification and growth in the foreseeable future. Our ability to execute this growth is underpinned by robust funding strength, reinforced by over AUD 50 billion in securitization issuance over our 40-year history. This year, our banking relationships expanded, pushing aggregate funding limits beyond AUD 10 billion. This year also brought some important changes to our leadership structure.
In April 2025, we welcome Pete Lirantzis as Chief Executive Officer. Given his previous role as Chief Operations, Product, and Strategy Officer, Pete brings valuable continuity and insight. He's ideally placed to lead Resimac into its next chapter of growth and diversification, focusing on efficiency through digital transformation and modernization. The Board acknowledges and extends its sincere gratitude to Director Susan Hansen, who served as Interim CEO from July 2024. Her dedication and leadership were essential during this critical transition period, which coincided with the integration of the Westpac Auto Finance acquisition. As we embrace innovation, the Board remains committed to robust governance, compliance, and risk management. This year, we reviewed the composition of our committees and undertook an independent board review to ensure we aligned with the changing needs of the business. Our focus is squarely on driving a culture of accountability and outcomes in a high-performance environment.
Finally, I also wish to sincerely thank my predecessor, former Chairman Warren McLeland, who stepped down at the conclusion of last year's Annual General Meeting after four years of invaluable service. We're fortunate that he remains on the Board as Deputy Chair and non-executive director, allowing us to retain his expertise. The Board is highly supportive of management's board strategy for FY26, which is centered on a back-to-the-core, intelligent lending approach. Our future strategy involves reinvesting responsibility in our home loans engine while building a high-quality, balanced loan book. We are focusing on improving conversion rates, reducing turnaround times, and uplifting our technology capability in the home loan business, prioritizing the experience of customers and brokers who remain central to our growth through improved service, technology investment, and deeper engagement. Enhancing broker experience remains a top priority.
Driving precision and efficiency, we must continue to challenge inefficiencies and embrace the transformative potential of agentic AI automation. These technologies are foundational elements of how Resimac will operate, compete, and create value by unlocking productivity gains. In fostering culture, we're introducing a high-performance culture that thrives on innovation and agility, empowering our people with a culture that fosters responsiveness, execution, and achievement. We are on a positive trajectory. I look forward to closely partnering with our CEO, Pete Lirantzis, as we continue to refine our strategy investment plan, working with all stakeholders to build a stronger and more efficient Resimac. On behalf of my Board, I extend our sincere thanks to the management team and to all Resimac employees for their dedication and resilience. FY25 presented challenges, but the organization responded with agility and purpose.
I also personally add my thanks to my fellow Board members for their dedication and support. Thank you to our shareholders, our customers, brokers, and funders for your continfued support. We look forward to realizing our potential in the years ahead. On that close, I'll now ask our CEO, Pete Lirantzis, to address the meeting. Thank you, Wayne.
Good morning, everyone. Like Wayne, I'm pleased to welcome you all to Resimac Group's Annual General Meeting. Today, I will cover our main achievements for the past financial year and share our growth plan. 2025 was a year of steady progress at Resimac, with our financial results reflecting continued growth and improvement in key areas. We diversified our existing autos offering by acquiring the AUD 1.5 billion Westpac portfolio in March. This contributed AUD 4.5 million to our operating profit and added 100,000 customers to our database. We also experienced relatively strong organic growth in our core revenue generator, residential mortgages. This translated to the following financial outcomes, as Wayne has outlined. Normalized operating profit before impairments and tax rose 30% to AUD 78.6 million, while return on equity improved AUD 12.5 million in the second half of financial year 2025. Mortgage settlements grew 14%, lifting AUM to AUD 13.4 billion for mortgages.
Meanwhile, asset finance AUM rose 27% to AUD 1.4 billion. In achieving these results, our settlements in home loans grew to AUD 4.9 billion within the year. Within our home loans business, we are investing in new technologies, process, and process improvements. This will unlock greater efficiencies and embed intelligent lending capabilities within our workflows. This will enable our key revenue generator to continue fueling our long-term growth and business diversification. In asset finance, settlements reached AUD 900 million. We continue to take a cautious approach to the SME sector, and we responded by refining our credit models and strengthening collections and recoveries capabilities within this business. These enhancements will continue in financial year 2026 as we pursue disciplined, sustainable growth, ensuring these offerings are primed for scalable growth in the future.
Both product lines are focused on improving broker engagement, reducing turnaround times, and enhancing our technology capability to drive faster, smarter, and better decisions. These are critical levers for improving broker and customer experience. Importantly, our funding capital costs have supported us throughout the reporting period, and Resimac continues to maintain a significant capacity of AUM growth. Over the past year, Resimac has executed multiple benchmark securitization transactions, totaling AUD 4.3 billion in prime and non-conforming RMBS securities. These issuances attracted strong real money investors participating from both domestic and offshore accounts, reflecting the market's trust in our credit quality and operational strength. Since stepping into the CEO role, I've worked closely with the Board and our leadership team to refine our strategy and strengthen our capabilities. We refreshed our senior leadership team across operations, credit, technology, product, sales, and distribution.
This new talent is helping us uplift performance, accelerate innovation, and improve how we service our brokers and our customers. Our purpose remains clear. We lend for life and business essentials. We are here to unlock lending possibilities for our customers and expand the product suite on offer for our brokers, providing access to the financial solutions that matter for the homes people live in and the assets that help businesses grow and operate. Our products are specifically designed to meet these core needs. The purpose is what drives our decision and shapes our future. As we celebrate 40 years of serving Australians, it's important to reflect on how far we have come. During this time, we have built a strong reputation as an experienced mortgage lender while expanding our offering to include complementary lending products such as car and commercial asset finance.
Looking ahead, we are pursuing a strategy centered around efficiency, back-to-the-core, intelligent lending. In a competitive landscape where agility and insights are paramount, I firmly believe that lenders equipped with superior lending intelligence and an unwavering focus on efficiency will emerge as true winners. This philosophy underpins everything we do, and it's what drives our commitment to drive sustainable value for you, our shareholders. As we navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead, our strategy is anchored in a clear five-point plan designed to propel long-term growth, enhance operational excellence, and strengthen our market position. Number one, invest in our key revenue generator, the mortgage portfolio, for long-term growth. Number two, embrace AI for smarter decisions, efficiency, productivity gains, and value creation. Number three, improve the broker and customer experience to deepen relationships. Number four, refine complementary products ready for scale.
Number five, most important, embed a high-performance culture to maintain the tract and foster the right mindset and behaviors in our people. The five-point plan serves as a strategic guide, positioning Resimac for sustained success in a dynamic market. We have already started experiencing positive outcomes of these initiatives, supported by a strong dedication to security, compliance, and governance. With also a strong funding capacity and disciplined liability management, we are well positioned to drive further growth and efficiencies. In closing, I'd like to acknowledge the efforts of our management team, employees, and corporate partners. Your dedication has helped us turn challenges into opportunities and laid a solid foundation for what's ahead. I'd also like to thank our brokers, business partners, and customers for their loyalty through the year. We are truly grateful. To our shareholders, thank you for continued support.
Your trust empowers us to evolve, innovate, and grow. I would like to express my gratitude to the Board for the continued support and guidance. I also look forward to partnering closely with our Chair, Wayne Spanner, as we strive to further advance Resimac. We are moving in a promising direction, and the possibilities before us are genuinely exciting. It is an honor to start this journey with you. I look forward to collaborating as we pursue new opportunities and drive our business towards future success. Thank you.
Thank you, Pete. As previously advised, voting on all resolutions today will be conducted by way of a poll. In order to provide you with enough time to vote, I remind you that the online platform is open for voting on all resolutions. I will now move to the formal business of the meeting. The financial statements and reports. The first item of the business for this meeting is the receipt of the financial report for the year ended 30 June 2025. This item is not required to be voted on. I do now ask, though, if there are any questions on the financial report. Before I do this, I advise that we've not received any questions in advance by our auditor. Do we have any questions on the online platform?
Yes, Chairman, we do. We have a number of general questions.
Should we just stick to the financial statement questions first?
Okay. Do you want to? Yeah.
Yeah. So the first.
Do you want to do?
Yeah.
Financial statements. Question for Mr. Stephen Main. When was the external audit last tendered, and when will it next be tendered?
I do not think that is a question I should be answering because I can only answer questions on the financial statements. I would pass that to James Spurway, CFO.
The last time the audit was tendered was back in 2010. I will note that Heather is up for rotation at the end of FY26, being her last year of signing accounts. We will look to put out a tender, most likely, which the audit committee can consider with her rotation.
Thank you, James. Are there any other questions?
Yes.
Sorry, question on the financial statements.
I'll then go to, are there any questions on the phone?
Thank you. There are no questions via the phone lines.
Thank you. I'll now go to the, are there any questions at our general?
I can do general.
Yeah, we'll do the general question.
Okay. Mr. Stephen Main. How many full-time equivalent staff do we currently have? Is this likely to fall over the coming 12 months with the rapid rollout of AI? Which parts of our business and operations are the most prospective for AI productivity gains, and how energetically are we embracing these opportunities? I'd like to ask Pete Lirantzis to respond.
Thank you. Thanks for the question, Stephen. Just to start off with AI, we view AI as a complementary or companion technology to our staff. We're starting to enhance and embrace, as we said in our speeches, a lot of the AI and agentic work. We see it impacting credit decisioning, customer service, and our collections processes. How energetically, we've already started journeys with AI already in production and working with our customers.
In a lot of cases, our staff are using AI to increase their productivity, increase the quality of our decisioning, and looking at speeding up certain processes.
Thank you, Pete.
Okay. Another question from Mr. Stephen Main. The AFR's Joyce Malarkus wrote an interesting column on July 11th, mentioning our company and predicting that the Australian non-bank lending sector was fertile ground for a range of mergers. She said this was not happening because several private equity players had unrealistic selling expectations. Which of the companies mentioned in this column—Latitude Financial, Liberty Financial, Pepper Money, Firstmac—are our major competitors in the corner of the non-bank lending market that we operate in, and are we open to any strategic play?
Thank you for the question. I'll say upfront, the article is interesting, but I think as a matter of policy, it's clear that Resimac doesn't comment on rumors or online speculation in relation to any strategic plays. I think that is appropriate in circumstances.
Might come up to some other questions. Do you want to do the Andrew Tan?
Yep. Question from Andrew Tan. How has the business performed for year to date FY26? Have you been able to achieve volume growth year to date? In addition, with favorable debt funding margins and BBSW tracking below the RBA cash rate, has the business been able to retain onto the new benefit, or has this been sacrificed to exchange for volume growth? I'll just say I'll hand over to the Treasurer in a minute, but we're not going to comment, I think, on year to date performance. Certainly, Andrew, it's going to you as the Treasurer just on the general operating environment.
Thank you, Andrew. We have seen some fairly positive outcomes in funding markets over the period. We remain cautiously optimistic as to how the credit markets will open up in the January or the first quarter of 2026 period itself. We have seen some tailwinds with respect to our cost of funds and a relatively benign environment in the competitive spaces of the mortgage and asset finance markets itself. We are expecting some positive outcomes to report with respect to the liability part of the balance sheet.
Thank you, Andrew. Just looking at another general question.
Yeah, you've got it.
You've got it written up.
Yeah.
Question from Mrs. Andrea Forest. Chairman Spanner, just a statement to start, please, before my question. Firstly, thank you for your leadership, all board members, and our exec team who are building a resilient business model. You are true custodians of capital. I've also heard very positive comments about our CEO, Pete Lirantzis, and CFO, James Spurway, and other investors. Second, thank you for the special dividend last financial year. Franking credits are highly valuable. Now to my two-part question. First, Chairman, given our depressed valuation, yet solid business model, when do we turn back on the buyback? One question. As it gives us optionality to use script, should we wish to do M&A and grow?
Second, with still AUD 118 million of franking credits on the balance sheet, how do we unlock such a large balance so it does not become trapped, as only 28 other companies on the ASX have such a high balance for market cap like us? Thank you once again for finding Resimac.
Thank you for the question. I think best to respond by saying both the share buyback program and the special dividend highlight the board's disciplined approach to capital management and the commitment to delivering sustainable value to its shareholders. This year's special dividend came as a result of the sale of certain non-core investments. The combination of a capital review and strategic divestment created a valuable opportunity to return capital to shareholders that may not ordinarily be available in future periods. The company will continue to actively monitor its capital needs to support business growth and maintain a strong and resilient financial position. I think we might, on that basis, based on the I'll just turn to we've done the net on the phone. I think I've done both questions here. I might now turn to the remuneration report. So Resolution 1 relates to the remuneration report.
The remuneration report can be found at page 28 of the annual report. Shareholders are required to consider if the remuneration report for the year ended 30 June 2025 be adopted. The vote on this resolution is advisory only and does not bind the directors of the company. I'll ask if there are any questions with respect to the remuneration report on the online platform.
No questions on the remuneration.
Thank you. Do we have any questions on the phone?
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Thank you. The proxy votes received by the company in respect of this resolution are displayed on the slide, and that should be visible next to the video presentation of the meeting. Note a number of proxies are not eligible to vote on this resolution. Might move to the next item, which is the reelection of directors. As the next resolution relates to my reelection, I'll ask Susan Hansen to chair this portion of the meeting.
Resolution 2 is considered if thought fit as the following resolution as an ordinary resolution. Mr. Wayne Spanner, who retires by rotation in accordance with clause 13.4 of the company's constitution, is re-elected as a director in accordance with clause 13.4.3 of the company's constitution. Wayne was appointed to the board in February 2020 and has been chairman since November 2024. Wayne's biography was included in the notes of the meeting and in the annual report. The board supports the re-election of Wayne. I will now ask Wayne to say a few words.
Thank you, Susan. It's a genuine privilege to serve Resimac as an independent director and especially as Chairman during its 40th year milestone year. We stand on strong foundation backed by an AUD 15 billion loan book and market leadership in securitization. I provide strategic leadership built on governance, complex change management experience, and a focus on operational efficiency and cultural alignment. My focus in this next phase of growth and efficiency centers on three critical areas that leverage my two decades of board and executive experience. First, upholding robust governance and risk oversight by leveraging my background as a lawyer and board director to ensure high standards of governance, compliance, and risk management. I bring expertise in invigorating strong financial hygiene and implementing new risk framework models. Second, driving strategic execution and efficiency.
I bring experience from navigating global corporate mergers, complex strategic alignment, and I back the back-to-core strategy, reinvesting responsibly in our home loans engine while building a high-quality balanced loan book. My priority is ensuring Resimac operates with precision, knowing that efficiency wins. Third, championing culture and digital transformation. I support the CEO, Pete Lirantzis, in driving efficiency through technology and implementing a high-performance culture that thrives on innovation and agility. We are focused on empowering our people and embracing the transformational potential of agentic AI automation and striving to full digitization to enhance the broken customer experience. In summary, I look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to build a stronger and more efficient Resimac. Thank you, Susan.
Thank you, Wayne. Are there any questions with respect to the re-election of Wayne Spanner?
Yes, I have one question from Stephen Main. What is the chair's view about next year offering shareholders a hybrid AGM, disclosing the proxies early with the formal addresses, lifting the two-question whole-of-meeting limit on shareholders announced at the start of today's meeting, publishing a copy of the AGM webcast on your website, and disclosing the end count data in the poll results? All changes as Resimac needs to make to reach AGM best practice delivered by the likes of Suncorp, Myer, TABCORP, and Stockland?
I might respond, Susan, if that's all right with you. Thank you very much for the question. Certainly understand that some companies have adopted this approach. However, it remains relatively uncommon in the broader market. Currently, there is limited appetite amongst our shareholder base for such a change, and we have received only a small number of similar requests. Accordingly, the board does not intend to pursue this initiative further at present. However, we do remain open to revisiting this matter should broader interest or market practice evolve. Thank you.
Thank you, Wayne. Are there any questions on the phone?
There are no phone questions at this time.
The proxy votes received by the company representing 70.5% of securities on issue in respect of this resolution are displayed on the slide. I will now pass the chair back to Wayne for the remainder of the meeting. He has been re-elected.
Thank you, Susan. I might now turn to the re-election of the directors again. Caroline Waldron, Resolution 3. Resolution 3 is to consider and, if thought fit, pass the resolution as an ordinary resolution that Mrs. Caroline Waldron, who retires by rotation in accordance with clause 13.4 of the company's constitution, is re-elected as a director in accordance with clause 13.4.3 of the company's constitution. Caroline was appointed by the board in November 2020. Caroline's biography was included in the notice of meeting and in the annual report, and the board supports the re-election of Caroline. I will now ask Caroline to say a few words.
Thank you, Wayne. It is a privilege to present myself before you and to seek your support for my re-election to the board of Resimac Group Limited. As Wayne said, I joined the board in November 2020, and I bring more than 30 years of experience across regulated consumer sectors, including technology, retail, and health. Throughout my career, I've focused on strengthening governance, elevating risk oversight, and ensuring organizations remain genuinely customer-centric. These skills complement those of my fellow directors and support the board's collective commitment to resilient, ethical, and sustainable performance. Since joining the board, I have been entrusted with the leadership of two of our board subcommittees, and earlier this year, I assumed the role of Chair of the Audit Committee, and I also continue to serve on the Risk and Compliance Committee and its Remuneration Committee.
Across these roles, my focus has been on disciplined oversight, transparent reporting, and ensuring the company's risk and governance settings remain fit for purpose as the operating environment evolves around us. There have been many highlights during my tenure, but I'm particularly proud of the organization's increased engagement with its various stakeholders. Engagement that strengthens trust and reinforces our purpose. I'm also encouraged by the company's ongoing investment in technology and its compliance uplift. These initiatives not only enhance operational resilience, but importantly, they deliver better outcomes and experiences for our customers. In closing, I would like to thank you for your support and your confidence in the board stewardship of your company. It remains an honor for me to serve, and I respectfully seek your support for my re-election so that I may continue contributing to Resimac's long-term success. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Caroline. Are there any questions on this resolution on the online platform, Secretary?
No questions on the online.
Thank you. Do we have any questions on the phone?
There are no questions via the phone lines.
Thank you. We might just show the proxy votes. The proxy votes received by the company representing 70.5% of securities on issue in respect of the resolution are displayed on the slide. We can now proceed to the poll. Computershare is our share registry provider represented today by Mr. Chris Scholtz-Betsky as returning officer. Voting at today's meeting will be conducted via the online platform. For those entitled to vote at today's meeting, if you have not already done so, please log on to the online voting portal as provided by the notice of meeting and online voting guide, and vote as the poll will be closing shortly. If you are eligible to vote at this meeting, a new polling icon will now appear. Selecting this icon will bring up the list of resolutions and present you with the voting options.
To cast your vote, simply select one of the options. There's no need to hit the submit button or enter button as the vote is automatically recorded. You have the ability to cast and change your vote on all resolutions up until the time I declare the voting closed. Following confirmation by Computershare, final results will be announced to the ASX later today. Please note that I will be voting under active proxies that I hold as Chairman in favor of all resolutions. I will now allow a few moments for voting. I'm going to close the poll now. Thank you. I can now declare that the poll is closed. As noted, the results of today's meeting, once finalized, will not be announced to the ASX.
However, I can advise at this time, based on the proxies received and the votes on the floor of this meeting, that I believe all resolutions laid down today will be carried. I certainly thank you for your attendance today and I now declare the meeting closed at 10:10 A.M. Thank you very much.