In this soft market, Austbrokers isn’t expecting revenue rises to come from its established members. Instead, it’s relying on bolt-on acquisitions to fuel growth. That strategy must be working well enough, because the Sydney-based listed company last week announced a 14.5% increase in underlying profit for the half year.

The mid-tier broker revealed a profit of $4.6 million for the six months to December 31. This was down from the $7.189 million achieved in the corresponding 2005 half.

Revenue grew by more than $3 million to nearly $33.7 million on extra income through the acquisitions of Shield Underwriting Holdings, Insurance Advisernet Australia and Austbrokers Trade Credit. Now Austbrokers is on track to achieve full-year profit growth in the 10% to 15% range.

CEO Lach McKeough says income from broker fees is down due to the soft market conditions for premiums, and has forecast “difficult trading conditions” for the next six months.