7th Aug 2018 09:44
LONDON (Alliance News) - Fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown PLC on Tuesday posted an increased annual profit due to more-active client share dealing, an increase in new business, and net asset growth.
In its financial year ended June 30, the FTSE 100-listed company recorded a GBP292.4 million pretax profit, up 10% from GBP265.8 million the year before.
Hargreaves' total net revenue was GBP447.5 million, a 16% increase from GBP385.6 million a year before, and a strong contributor to profit. Total assets under administration at June end stood at GBP91.6 billion, a 16% increase from GBP79.2 billion the previous year.
Underlying net new business climbed 10% to GBP7.6 billion from GBP6.9 billion which was a record for the company with 137,000 net new clients introduced, 14% higher year-on-year.
The fund supermarket declared a final 22.1 pence per share divided, up 8.3% from 20.4 the previous year. Together with the interim and a special 7.8p dividend, which was not paid the year before, pay-out per share jumped 38% to 40.0 pence from 29.0p last year.
"Brexit is on the horizon and the prevailing political and economic turbulence is having an effect on investor confidence. However...I believe the strength and scale of our business means we can continue to develop our offering to the benefit of all our stakeholders in the future," said Hargreaves Chief Executive Chris Hill.
Shares in Hargreaves Lansdown were trading down 3.4% at 2,047.00p on Tuesday, the second worst performer in the FTSE 100 index.
Deutsche Bank analyst Wajahat Rivzi predicted the 10% profit rise but was overly optimistic about Hargreaves's assets under management, predicting GBP92.2 billion, slightly ahead of the GBP91.6 billion actually recorded.
Costs grew 25% rather than the 22% had Rivzi predicted, totalling GBP158.7 million from GBP126.7 million after a number of investments in staff, digital marketing, and technology. Staff costs, in particular, rose 27% to GBP87.4 million from GBP68.6 million.
The 40.0p dividend fell behind Rivzi's 42.3p prediction. It was below Shore Capital's 42.0p prediction as well, and behind the 41.9p market consensus.
Shore analyst Paul McGinnis explained that the special dividend was not paid last year because the UK Financial Conduct Authority required Hargreaves to increase its regulatory capital.
Furthermore, Shore is considering a downgrade for Hargreaves to Sell.
"A year or two of continued strong delivery (without a major equity market correction) is required for the current share price to 'reconnect' with the still-solid fundamentals," McGinnis said.
McGinnis said that while it had been hoped that Hargreaves would maintain mid-teens levels of profit growth, this has not proven to be the case.
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