Profits have risen for Mortgage Choice in spite of a slight slowdown in approvals.

The company's full-year results, released today, show a 7.4% increase in net profits to $15.9m. Likewise, the group has grown its loan book to $42.4bn, up from $40bn in 2010.

Housing loan approvals, however, saw a slowdown in 2011, falling to $9.9bn from $10.1bn in 2010. The company attributed the result to the general market slowdown in credit demand. CEO Michael Russell said the financial year was "one of the most demanding" in the history of the company, and praised the profit results.

Mortgage Choice also saw the addition of 19 greenfield franchises and the sale of 19 existing franchises. In addition, the company stated its subsidiary aggregator, LoanKit, doubled its broker numbers over 2011.