iFast shares reap gains as 2024 net profit hits record high, outlook brightens

SINGAPORE – Shares of iFast rose this week after it reported its highest profits in 2024 and laid out plans for growth in the next three years, including a goal to quadruple the investments under its care within three to five years.

iFast, a Singapore-headquartered fintech provider with businesses in wealth management, digital banking and online pensions, closed on Feb 14 at $7.89, up by around 5 per cent since reporting its 2024 results on Feb 12.

The firm said net profit surged 135.7 per cent to $66.63 million in the 12 months to Dec 31, 2024, above the mean estimate of $62.97 billion forecast by analysts polled by Bloomberg.

The record profit was mainly driven by higher fee income from its assets under administration (AUA) and its digital bank, iFast Global Bank (iGB), turning profitable in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The group’s AUA hit a record $25.01 billion at the end of 2024, up 26.1 per cent from the $19.83 billion recorded a year earlier. Singapore remained iFast’s largest AUA market at 70.3 per cent, followed by Hong Kong and Malaysia at roughly about 12 per cent each, the firm said at a results briefing on Feb 13. The rest of its clients are from China and Britain.

A final dividend of 1.6 cents a share for the fourth quarter was announced, up from 1.4 cents in the fourth quarter of 2023. This brought total dividends to 5.9 cents for 2024, compared with 4.8 cents in 2023.

Looking ahead, iFast said it expects AUA at its wealth management business to expand and has set a target of $100 billion by 2028-2030, up 300 per cent from $25 billion in 2024. This, in turn, will drive further increases in revenue and profitability.

DBS Research Group analyst Ling Lee Keng in a Feb 13 report said iFast will likely require inorganic growth drivers such as mergers and acquisitions in order to hit the $100 billion AUA by 2028-2030.

But iFast told The Straits Times the firm will focus on achieving its AUA targets through internal growth, noting that $3.3 billion was added to iFast’s AUA in 2024, reflecting strong momentum in the wealth management business.

The firm expects contributions from iGB to grow in the coming years.

The fully-licensed British digital bank turned a profit of $300,000 in the final quarter of 2024, logging its first quarter in the black. This was driven by growing customer deposits, which crossed $1.01 billion as at the end of 2024, up 182.6 per cent over the year.

iFast said iGB’s ability to achieve profitability in less than three years following its acquisition is “a major achievement” and now expects the digital bank to achieve a full year of profitability in 2025.

iFast acquired an 85 per cent stake in iGB for around $73.4 million in early 2022 to expand its global clientele.

Chief executive Lim Chung Chun told reporters at the briefing that many customers around the world want to have a bank account outside of their home country. The reasons include wanting personal diversification and better rates.

“This is really a very clear opportunity and that’s why after we bought the bank, we are talking about a truly global business model where we go out to try to tap into this opportunity,” he said.

iGB now has customers from close to 100 countries who have opened bank accounts. “Sixty-five per cent of our deposits for iFast Global Bank are coming from a non-UK residence,” said Mr Lim.

The wider reach from being a global bank has benefited iFast, said Ms Ling of DBS, noting that iFast recognises that banking, particularly retail banking, remains largely localised.

iFast’s online pension business is also expected to grow.

iFast’s management had announced that there are preparations for a collaboration with a partner to start its pension business in Macau, CGS International analyst Andrea Choong noted in a Feb 13 report.

Ms Choong said the strength in iFast’s e-pension services business in Hong Kong contributed to its earnings growth in 2024 and a similar project in Macau could present possible earnings upside. However, disclosures are limited at this stage and scalability may take time, she added.

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