31st Jul 2019 08:53
(Alliance News) - St James's Place PLC on Wednesday reported record funds under management but left its interim dividend unchanged due to a challenging operating environment.
Shares in the FTSE 100-listed wealth manager were down 5.9% in early trading in London, among the worst performers in the blue-chip index, at 981.60 pence each.
The wealth manager left its dividend unchanged at 18.49 pence per share. St James's Place said it did so in recognition of the "challenges in the shorter-term operating environment".
Chief Financial Officer Craig Gentle added: "Whilst the short-term financials will be impacted by the current uncertain environment, the prospects for the business are very good. Enormous demand for advice in the UK market, a proven ability to grow our adviser base, and a significant flow of future cash income from the gestation all underpin our confidence, and our anticipation of a return to growth in the medium and longer-term."
St James's Place ended the half with GBP109.3 billion in funds under management, which represents a record for the company.
At the same point last year, the wealth manager held GBP96.6 billion in funds under management with its funds standing at GBP95.6 billion at the end of 2018.
All three of the company's fund classes saw growth in the first half. St James's Place Pension funds under management ended the half at GBP48.16 billion, up 18% in the six month period.
Investment funds grew 8.8% to GBP30.08 billion whilst Unit Trust/ISA & Discretionary Fund Management added 14% to GBP31.08 billion.
In the six months to June 30, St James's Place saw net inflows of GBP4.4 billion on strong gross inflows of GBP7.38 billion. The largest inflows were seen for the company's Pension funds, adding GBP2.96 billion in net inflows.
The company attributed the improvements to client retention.
European embedded value operating profit in the first half slipped 4.9% year-on-year to GBP465.7 million. EEV new business contribution profit declined 12% to GBP386.3 million.
"Given the uncertain macro-economic and political environment that continues to prevail in the UK, I am pleased to report a solid set of results for the first six months of 2019, once again demonstrating the resilience of the St James's Place business," said Chief Executive Andrew Croft.
He continued: "Whilst our new business continues to perform well compared to others in the wealth management sector, we are not immune to the challenging external factors that prevailed during the first half of the year. Consequently, gross new inflows for the period were some 7% lower than the first half of 2018, and we are encouraged that gross flows improved in the second quarter versus the first quarter."
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