Centrepoint Alliance Builds Its Next Growth Engine Around Advice and AI

FY26 earnings growth funds the next expansion phase

Centrepoint Alliance Limited (ASX:CAF) is entering its next growth phase from a stronger base: normalised EBITDA rose 16% to $12.3 million in FY26, while the margin widened to 29% from 26%. Net revenue increased 5% to $43.0 million, profit before tax was $7.3 million, and the company finished the year with $14.4 million in cash.

The result extends a five-year run in which normalised EBITDA increased 262%, net revenue climbed 53% and the cost-to-income ratio fell from 88% to 71%, according to the AGM presentation. Centrepoint also declared a fully franked final dividend of 1.75 cents per share, taking ordinary dividends for FY26 to 3.0 cents.

Salaried advice emerges as the clearest near-term growth engine

The salaried advice division is doing more than adding advisers. Revenue rose 22% to $10.3 million, supported by fee increases, improved adviser productivity and the contribution of the Brighter Super advice review book. The presentation showed revenue increasing from $5.75 million in FY24 to $13.28 million on its forward FY27 view, while adviser numbers rose from 17 to 23 over that period.

Centrepoint intends to expand the business through a mix of organic productivity gains, tuck-in acquisitions, partnerships and equity investments. Its Cairns and Pinnacle acquisition settled after year-end, while the company also completed acquisitions involving Cairns Wealth, Pinnacle Wealth and a 51% stake in SEQ Advice Group. The latter transaction was described in earlier coverage as carrying deferred payments linked to future earnings, with a pathway to increased ownership.

Adviser network provides scale and acquisition pipeline

Centrepoint said its network spans more than 1,600 advisers across approximately 600 firms, comprising 576 authorised representatives across 397 firms and a further 1,072 advisers across 201 self-licensed firms. Management said the network gives the company both a stable licensee-services earnings base and a potential pipeline of businesses that could later move into salaried advice.

There is, however, an awkward presentation detail for investors to reconcile. The chair’s address describes Centrepoint as the largest adviser network in Australia, while the accompanying presentation labels it the market’s number two licensee. The underlying adviser counts are clear; the market-ranking claim is not presented consistently.

IconiQ pipeline points to future platform earnings

Investment Solutions remains a longer-dated part of the story. Centrepoint said key-account client books exceeding $1 billion are transitioning to its IconiQ investment and superannuation platform, with additional opportunities in progress. The company expects IconiQ to contribute meaningfully to earnings in future years rather than immediately.

The presentation’s illustrative flows model builds towards approximately $1.2 billion of total funds under administration, but the timing of the largest transitions is not fixed and some potential flows remain indicative. That makes execution, rather than the headline pipeline, the more important measure in the periods ahead.

AI tools move from experimentation towards production

Centrepoint has established an in-house AI capability, including a Head of AI Engineering appointed in August 2026, an AI governance framework, usage policies and firm-wide staff training. The first applications are AI-enabled file audits in final production testing, followed by pre-vetting of advice documents.

The company says the tools will keep people accountable for outcomes while using AI to extend monitoring, improve consistency and reduce administration for advisers and internal teams. The commercial benefit remains to be demonstrated in production, and the strength of the proposition will depend on how effectively productivity gains are balanced against the controls required in a heavily regulated advice business.