7th Aug 2020 08:13
(Alliance News) - Fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown PLC on Friday said it delivered a strong performance in financial 2020 despite myriad external challenges, saying it is strongly positioned to help clients navigate through uncertain times.
Chief Executive Officer Chris Hill said: "The benefits of putting our clients at the heart of everything we do, combined with our investment in the scalability, diversity and resilience of HL's business model, have been demonstrated through a record 188,000 net new clients, bringing total active clients to over 1.4 million and GBP7.7 billion of net new business, also a record."
The Bristol, England-based company, which offers an investment platform for retail investors, said assets under administration for the year to June 30 increased 5% year-on-year to GBP104.0 billion from GBP99.3 billion a year ago. Net new business inflows also rose 5% year-on-year to GBP7.7 billion from GBP7.3 billion.
Annual pretax profit jumped 24% to GBP378.3 million from GBP305.8 million profit a year ago. This included a gain on disposal of GBP38.8 million relating to FundsLibrary Ltd.
Stripping out the exceptional disposal gain, pretax profit rose 11% year-on-year to GBP339.5 million.
Revenue surged 15% to GBP550.9 million from GBP480.5 million, driven by higher asset levels and record share dealing volumes seen in the second half of the year.
Looking forward, Hargreaves Lansdown said the impact of the coronavirus crisis, higher unemployment levels and increased government borrowings on clients and wider investment community is "difficult to call".
"Interest rates are at all-time lows, which makes cash savings unappealing, but market uncertainty and volatility can equally deter people from investing and access to liquidity is a key part of building financial resilience. However, our focus on clients, the trusted relationships we have with them and the investment we have made to broaden and strengthen our proposition, means Hargreaves Lansdown is strongly positioned to help our clients navigate through these difficult times," CEO Hill said.
Hargreaves Lansdown upped its final dividend to 26.3 pence per share from 33.7p a year ago. The total annual dividend, including special payouts, was up 31% at 54.9p from 42.0p.
Separately, the company said Stephen Robertson and Fiona Clutterbuck will not be standing for re-election as non-executive directors at the company's annual general meeting on October 8.
The FTSE 100 stock was up 3.9% at 1,895.50 pence each in London on Friday morning.
By Tapan Panchal; [email protected]
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