ECT announces 2010-2011 financial result

The Eastland Community Trust announced a $6.5 million profit after projects, distributions and tax and increased its trust fund value by more than nine percent in the 2010-2011 financial year. The result, posted at the AGM yesterday (Aug 25), included $6.78 million from the Eastland Group which consisted of a $4.2 million dividend and $2.58 million interest on capital notes.

Chairman Richard Brooking said the trust was pleased with the result which had seen a vastly increased distribution to the community of $1.5 million, $700,000 more than in 2010. He said the organisation kept its expenses below budget and it received $1.63 million from its other investment portfolios.

Mr Brooking said the performance of the Eastland Group was paramount to the financial success of the Trust.  “The Group ended the year with a record net profit after tax of $8 million and revenue was up from $61.9 million in 2010 to $72.9 million in 2011. This is a great result and we congratulate the Group on its continued success.”

ECT general manager Leighton Evans said the Trust prospered financially, beating its net income target by 1.7%. In a world of economic uncertainty and variable investment returns, this is a great achievement.

He said the Trust had worked hard to improve its efficiency. Tight controls imposed on spending resulted in costs being 8.17% below budget and virtually the same as the previous year. “This is extremely positive given the extra work we did and the resources required to process increased numbers of funding applications, manage the volume of distributions, optimise and monitor our investments, progress internal trust developments and continue building trust structures and processes.

“We expect the Trust’s operations will continue to grow as we engage more actively in meeting community expectations. The Trust’s new subcommittee structure was more efficient and effective and improved internal assessment processes allowing the Trust to ‘catch up’ on the backlog of applications and become more proactive with projects,” he said. 

Mr Brooking noted the contribution of retiring trustee Peter Farley and welcomed returning trustee Joe Martin. “On behalf of the trustees I would also like to thank the directors, management and staff of all the entities in the wider group for the year’s positive performance despite the tough economic times. “I would also like to thank my fellow trustees for their continued diligence in preserving and growing the trust funds in harsh economic climates and in developing the new way forward,” he said.

The full ECT annual report is available by clicking here