Liberty Financial Group has closed out FY26 with statutory net profit after tax up 8% to $143.8 million, with underlying NPATA rising 7% to $155.6 million for the year ended 30 June 2026.
The non-bank lender's financial assets grew 3% to $15.2 billion, while its underlying cash return on equity climbed to 13.1%, up from 12.1% the prior year.
Chief executive James Boyle (pictured left) attributed the result to a combination of loan book growth and cost management.
"The Liberty Group has delivered disciplined profit growth over the past two financial years including a 7% growth rate in NPATA for the year ended 30 June 2026," Boyle said in a media release, adding that the company had been able to grow profit "in an increasingly competitive lending environment and continuing interest rate and cost of living uncertainty for customers."
That result comes amid a broader shift toward non-bank lenders, with non-bank home loan issuance jumping 65.2% to $10.49 billion in the June quarter, compared to just 2% growth across the major banks.
Chief financial officer Peter Riedel (pictured right) pointed to the group's funding activity as a key strength heading into FY27.
"LFG raised $4.7 billion in new funding in the 12 months to 30 June 2026 and retains an investment grade corporate rating of BBB (stable outlook)," Riedel said, highlighting the lender's net interest margin of 2.5% as market-leading. The company's leverage ratio ticked up slightly to 14x, from 13.6x in FY25.
Securityholders will receive a final unfranked distribution of 7.5 cents per security, alongside a fully franked special dividend of 15 cents per security.
Riedel said the payout reflected the group's broader capital strategy, noting the distributions were "in line with our policy to optimise capital for growth as well as to provide an attractive yield for securityholders."
Looking ahead, Boyle flagged ongoing headwinds from recent budget measures and geopolitical uncertainty weighing on consumer confidence, but said Liberty's diversified product range — spanning home, car, personal, and business loans, along with SMSF lending and insurance — left it well placed to keep serving customers and securityholders through FY27.
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