An auction of Pillar Administration is not on the cards yet, as the company is still preparing to get into shape to achieve the best price for the business, a source has told Investor Weekly.
"The previous government basically said that we are not core business. [And] we believe that at some stage we are going to be sold," the source said.
"When we were first put up for sale, we weren't ready for a sale and we had to do a whole lot of things and we are still doing a whole lot of those things.
"There is certainly no [sale] process running or anything like that."
Last week, media reports suggested the sale of Pillar was imminent, with New South Wales Treasury waiting for a detailed business plan from Pillar's management before taking a final decision.
However, the source said Pillar compiled a business plan for the government every year in June as part of of its regular communication, but that it was currently not working on such a plan.
"We report to Treasury all the time in terms of our progress and we continue to do that," the source said.
A spokesperson for NSW Finance and Services Minister Greg Pearce also said that the claims of an impending sale were 'unsubstantiated'.
Pillar was first put up for sale in 2008 and law firm Gilbert + Tobin was appointed to investigate the divestment.
But in April 2009, the NSW government decided to defer the sale to give Pillar time to implement key strategic initiatives, including efficiency improvements and growth opportunities, to increase the sale price.
At the end of 2010, the Superannuation Administration Authority Corporatisation Amendment Bill 2010 was passed, which enabled Pillar to expand its services outside of the superannuation industry to include other financial services clients, opening up a new market for the company.
According to Pillar's annual report for the year to 30 June 2011, the company had revenues of $79.5 million, compared to $75.2 million the year before.
The company was profitable over 2011, reporting a profit attributable to shareholders of $3.8 million, compared to $3.1 million in 2010.
