23rd May 2014 09:17
LONDON (Alliance News) - Close Brothers Group PLC Friday said it is "well-placed" for the remainder of the year and remains confident in delivering a strong result for 2014.
In a statement, the UK merchant banking group, which provides lending, deposit taking, wealth management services and securities trading, said it had a positive third-quarter performance.
Over the three months ended April 30, its banking division's loan book increased to GBP5.1 billion, from GBP4.9 billion, driven by property lending and a seasonal uplift in motor finance. Close Brothers said that the quality of the loan book remains strong but said its net interest margin has declined slightly in the quarter. Nevertheless, Close Brothers said the favourable credit environment has continued.
Close Brothers' asset management arm's assets under management increased to GBP9.6 billion from GBP9.3 billion over the third-quarter, with the revenue margin "stable" on the half-year. According to Close Brothers, the business has continued to build good momentum in its inflows, supported by positive market movements.
"We remain focused on the quality of our lending and expect to continue to deliver good growth at attractive margins in the banking division. Winterflood is well positioned to benefit from a stronger cyclical recovery but remains sensitive to market conditions. In asset management we continue to progress towards our profitability target as the business builds scale," Close Brothers said.
Winterflood's performance was consistent with the first-half, Close Brothers said of the securities arm.
Close Brothers shares were Friday quoted at 1,337.00 pence, up 0.7% Friday morning.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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