Broker franchise group Mortgage Choice continued to struggle with its diversification strategy over the last financial year. While earnings for the core broking business were flat, year-on-year, losses on recent acquisitions and start-ups increased.Yesterday, the company reported a net profit of A$18.5 million for the 12 months to June - one third down on the previous year.On a cash basis, after adjusting the net present value of future trailing commissions, earnings fell six per cent.The value of the loan book increased by 6.4 per cent, to $45.1 billion, which was ahead of system growth of 5.0 per cent. Settlements were up 11.5 per cent. On a cash basis, earnings for the core broking business were up 0.6 per cent.The company's new businesses did not do so well. The comparison website Help Me Choose lost $1.02 million, compared with a loss of $447,000 in 2010/11.Mortgage Choice chief executive Michael Russell said Help Me Choose reported a profit in the June quarter.The aggregator business LoanKit lost $575,000, compared with a loss of $320,000 in 2010/11.Russell said LoanKit broker numbers increased by 31 per cent to 256 during the year.Mortgage Choice Financial Planning, a start-up launched in the past few months, reported a loss of $139,000.The group's average upfront commission rate was 0.59 per cent - slightly lower than the previous year.Russell said the company would experience much the same market and economic conditions in the 2012/13 financial year, with housing credit growth in the five to seven per cent range.Franchise numbers grew from 368 at the end of June last year to 380.