Kelly Partners Group Lifts Revenue 18% as International Expansion Continues

Kelly Partners Group Holdings (ASX: KPG) lifted revenue 18.2% to $159.2 million for FY26 as its acquisition-led expansion continued to increase the scale of the accounting network.

Adjusted for customer-relationship amortisation and non-recurring items, underlying attributable earnings rose 18.9% to $10.8m, while owner earnings increased 18.4% to $10.0m and earnings per share on that basis climbed 18.0% to 23.8 cents.

Cash flow from operating activities before lease-accounting effects increased 30.1% to $32.4m, with cash conversion reaching 104.9% compared with 99.8% a year earlier.

The US businesses now account for about $25.0m, or roughly 15% of group revenue, adding weight to Kelly Partners’ strategy of building a broader international accounting platform.

Acquisitions Driving Revenue

Acquired revenue contributed $20.6m of the group’s $24.6m year-on-year revenue increase, representing 15.3 percentage points of growth, while organic growth contributed 2.9 percentage points.

Organic growth was 4.5% after excluding the impact of office consolidations and the exit of unprofitable clients, showing a stronger underlying rate after adjusting for those portfolio changes.

Kelly Partners completed six acquisitions during FY26 with estimated combined annual revenue of between $18.7m and $22.2m, spanning the US, Australia, and the Philippines.

Including all completed acquisitions, annualised group revenue was estimated at $164.2m.

Operating Margins Hold

Underlying EBITDA before lease-accounting effects rose 16.8% to $40.2m, while the operating businesses produced an EBITDA margin of 28.4% compared with 28.3% a year earlier.

The Australian operating businesses generated a 31.9% EBITDA margin, up from 30.5%, while the US businesses recorded 8.1%, and Ireland 40.5%.

Parent-level investment increased to about $5.0m, or 3.1% of revenue, as Kelly Partners continued spending on central capabilities, people, brand, and digital infrastructure to support further expansion.

“Our clients over the next 25 years are all going to have to earn a return on a global basis and will need their accountants to help them operate in this new global world,” chief executive officer Brett Kelly said.

“To that end, we have been able to grow our Australian business to $100m+ revenue and we look to expand our international presence to the US and the UK, where we see significant opportunities exist.”

Global Platform Taking Shape

Kelly Partners ended FY26 with 711 team members and 105 partners across 43 operating businesses, with revenue per head increasing 10% to $224,000.

Its Partner-Owner-Driver model has underpinned 83 partnerships since inception and remains central to the group’s programmatic acquisition strategy.

The Philippines operation added seven locations and more than 1,150 seats providing global talent to the group, while Kelly Partners now services about 8% of McDonalds franchisees in the US and aprroximately 10% in Australia.

Group net debt rose 21.1% to $70.7m as borrowings funded acquisitions, fitouts, and partner buy-ins, although net debt to underlying EBITDA increased from 1.42 times to 1.52 times.

Planned next steps include progressing an international listing, pursuing a long-dated debt raise to provide additional flexible capital, and developing a loyalty-based dual-class share structure.