"In a market where gross new mortgage lending was down 9% on prior year, our revenue grew by 3%"
Its results show that revenue grew by 3% to £148.3m, including £14.7m of revenue generated by Edinburgh-based broker First Mortgage, which it acquired the remaining 20% stake in last year.
Gross profits rose 9% to £39.8m and adviser numbers are up 8% to 1,580, including 97 advisers at First Mortgage.
MAB also reported that its market share of new mortgage lending is up 11% to 6.3% from 5.7% in 2019.
Gross mortgage completions (including product transfers) increased by 5% to £17.6bn, with product transfer completions up 50% to £2.3bn.
Peter Brodnicki, chief executive, commented: "These results once again demonstrate the resilience of our operating model and the quality and dedication of our management team and staff during a year of exceptional challenges. We took quick and decisive action in response to the pandemic that resulted in us not only coming through an incredibly difficult period in great shape and ensuring that our 2020 strategic objectives were met, but also putting ourselves in a strong position to start accelerating growth over the next few years.
"In a market where gross new mortgage lending was down 9% on prior year, our revenue grew by 3% to £148.3m and our mortgage completions grew by 5% to £17.6bn. Our market share of new mortgage lending increased 11% to 6.3%, thereby delivering our strategy to achieve year-on-year growth, irrespective of prevailing market conditions. Adviser numbers were up 8% to 1,580(4) by 31 December 2020.
"Despite the impact of the pandemic, our profitability and cash generation profile remained strong, which enabled us to reimburse all the Government furlough grant income received. Accordingly, we are pleased to propose a final dividend of 19.2 pence per share, in line with our policy of paying out a minimum of 75% of adjusted earnings, making total proposed dividends for the year of 25.6 pence per share. This includes the 6.4 pence per share 'catch up' interim dividend paid in December 2020."
