After a disappointing result in 2014/15, when its earnings fell, it lost market share and it announced the closure of its loss-making comparison site business, Mortgage Choice has got off to a better start this financial year.The broker franchise group has reported a net profit of A$10.7 million for the six months to December - up 7.8 per cent on the previous corresponding period.On a cash basis, profit rose 12.4 per cent to $10.1 million.Mortgage Choice chief executive John Flavell, who joined the company last April, has delivered on a promise to get expenses under control.While total commission and revenue rose seven per cent to $34.4 million, expense growth was limited to one per cent.A highlight was the 63 per cent growth in financial planning revenue to $800,000. Financial planning contributed 4.1 per cent of gross revenue during the half, compared with 2.8 per cent in the previous corresponding period.Other good news for the business was a small increase in the average up-front commission rate to 0.644 per cent.The loan book grew 4.7 per cent year-on-year. Market share picked up from 3.5 per cent to 3.6 per cent. Flavell said the company was focused on increasing its market share.Another of Flavell's preoccupations is to increase the flow of referrals from the core broking business to the financial planning business.He said there was some improvement during the half but there was plenty of work to do in that area.