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Latitude Financial has unveiled the price tag it faces following the major cyber attack it suffered back in March, unveiling the data of 7.9 million people.
In an ASX announcement, the organisation revealed that it would face a potential loss as high as $105 million as a direct result of the cyber attack.
“As a consequence of the direct impacts of the cyber attack on operations, IFRS 9 credit provisions and the provision for costs and remediation, the 1H23 Statutory Loss after tax from continuing operations is forecast to be in the range of $95 million to $105 million, with the full-year statutory result also expected to be a loss.”
In light of the news, Latitude’s shares dropped 7 per cent, landing at $1.20.
In addition, the organisation said it would “make a provision for costs associated with the cyber incident”. While the exact expenses are unknown at this stage, it said that the board would recognise roughly $53 million after tax in the first half of 2023, made up of a $46 million provision and additional costs incurred.
In light of this, the organisation said that it expected a cash net profit after tax (NPAT) between $5 million and $10 million for the first half of the year and that a full-year net profit after tax would likely “be in the range of $15 million to $25 million”.
Latitude said that while it was “able to continue processing transactions as it responded to the March cyber attack”, it was forced to close collections and new account originations for a five-week period, and this had an effect on its profits.
The financial services organisation has maintained that it has worked hard to keep its customers abreast of the situation.
“From the outset of the incident, Latitude has sought to keep customers, partners, regulators, shareholders and the broader community as informed and up to date as has been possible,” it said.
It added that while operations have returned to normal and no suspicious activity has been detected since the 16 March incident, the attack remains under investigation by the Australian Federal Police.
“We continue to cooperate fully with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner and New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner investigations. Extensive further enquiries from regulators are expected over the coming months,” Latitude said.
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