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Rise and Fall of Pont Securities and Pont Data

 

 


 

DISCOUNT BROKERS ARE STIRRING THE POT
By TONY THOMAS
Oct 24, 1994 – 10.00am

The small but thriving discount broking community in Australia is on the move. The Pont Securities discount group has swung solidly into profit in the past two years after losses for the previous five years. Gross commissions in 1993-94 leapt from $3 million to $7 million, and pre-tax profit this year is more than $3 million. The 41 owners of Pont's 15c shares will earn fully franked dividends of 18 from net profit in 1993-94 of $2.4 million. This compares with $478,000 net profit a year ago. Pont, an unlisted public company, is showing a dividend yield of about 27%, on the "grey market" share price of 65c. Brokers believe Pont now ranks as the top NSW broker in return on capital.

Pont's only present rival, the US-owned Twenty-first Australia, plans to expand from Sydney to a serviced office and two staff in Melbourne's Collins Street next month.

Pont's Sydney office has 31 staff; the Melbourne office, run by Rea Van Deursen, has six; and the Gold Coast office at Bundall, which opened last April, has three. The Sydney office does about 450 trades a day and Melbourne about 125.

Pont Securities was able to continue normal trading when Pont Data Australia failed in 1992 with an estimated deficiency of more than $26 million. Pont Data's "report as to affairs" in April 1992 shows $8 million owed to the company by other Pont group members worldwide, with no net assets, and $25 million owed by the company to a different group of Pont affiliates. (The company also owed $527 to BRW).

The Pont Data operation in Britain was placed in receivership two weeks later in 1992. Pont Data US had earlier filed for Chapter 11 protection.

Pont data had other offices in the USA and France which all closed down

Liquidator Chris Horn of KPMG says there was a substantial shortfall to creditors and a host of claims and charges. "We are still really just trying to get enough money to pay the employees," he says. "We are continuing investigations. I think the people involved in the day-to-day activities were completely above board and trying to do the right thing by creditors and employees, but some other issues at least raise questions that bear looking at."

Moore declines to discuss Pont Data. He says that Pont Securities and Pont Data were totally separate entities. "I like to be a pretty private person. It's water under the bridge," he says. "The Gulf War did have a major impact on Pont Data. The business had become a mini-Reuters, but times changed.

Extracted from the Australian Financial Review October 1994

Ref:- https://www.afr.com/companies/discount-brokers-are-stirring-the-pot-19941024-kass7

 

Two Share Certificates issued by Pont International
One for 3,400 and the other 4,000 shares
Left Directors Signature "Greg Moore"

Donated Courtesy of Victoria Beesley



One UK owner of these shares asked about their value in 2023, one ex employee remarked:

I’m afraid I wouldn’t hold out much hope for cashing those in as Greg Moore bankrupted the company when he sold the “exclusive” intellectual property rights to 3 different buyers and scarpered off with 39 million Aussie dollars!

Another remarked
Some of us in the NYC office were looking to buy out the business when we first thought it was a cash flow issue… We had financing lined up from at least 2 sources, incl Mike Bloomberg until he looked closely at the Finances