HedgeCo.Net — L1 Group posted its first full-year result since absorbing Platinum Asset Management and the headline is a 97% jump in underlying profit that includes a large one-off fee. For the year to June 30, 2026, underlying net profit after tax was A$188.8 million, up from a A$96.1 million pro forma prior year, Motley Fool Australia and Money Management reported from the ASX filing. Underlying EBITDA was A$287.4 million, up 102%. Revenue was A$385.9 million, up 49%, while operating expenses fell about 15%. Funds under management finished at A$19.1 billion, up 17%. The Platinum merger completed on October 1, 2025.
Inside the profit is A$79.3 million of performance fees from closing the unlisted L1 Wholesale Gold Fund and moving it into the listed L1 Gold vehicle. That is real cash. It is not a repeatable run-rate. Cost synergies of A$31.7 million have been realized, and the target was raised from A$35 million to A$43 million, with about A$11 million more expected in FY27. The board declared a final 2.0 cent fully franked dividend, taking FY26 to 3.0 cents. The group said it is debt-free with A$635 million in cash and seed investments.
The book is now mostly L1, not Platinum. Kalkine, citing the filing, put L1 Capital and affiliates at about 73% of group FUM, up from 55% at merger, with L1 Long Short at A$8.9 billion, L1 Affiliates A$3.3 billion, Platinum strategies A$3.3 billion, and L1 Gold A$833 million at June 30. Net flows improved in every quarter, the company said. That is a successful integration on costs and branding. It is also a reminder that the listed vehicle’s earnings are now levered to L1’s long/short and gold sleeves more than to Platinum’s old franchise.
For allocators who own the underlying funds rather than the ASX stock, the result is a GP-level scorecard. Synergies and a gold-fund crystallization paid the listed holders. The open question is whether Platinum strategies, now a A$3.3 billion sleeve, keep capital or continue to shrink as a share of the group.
The second-order item is listed alternative-manager math. A 97% underlying profit jump that includes a A$79.3 million one-off will be used in the marketing of the merger. Subtract the gold fee and the year is still better. It is not 97%. LPs comparing this print to a private GP’s should ask for the fee mix, the FUM mix, and the flow by sleeve, not the ASX headline. The merger is “nearing completion.” The earnings quality test starts now.