27th Jul 2016 06:47
LONDON (Alliance News) - Wealth manager St James's Place PLC on Wednesday reported higher operating profit and expressed confidence in its ability to successfully navigate through any Brexit-related challenges ahead.
The FTSE 100-listed group said operating profit, stated on an embedded value basis, grew to GBP284.0 million in the half to the end of June, up from GBP205.9 million a year earlier. New business profit in the half grew to GBP228.9 million from GBP205.9 million.
EEV is a measure designed to allow for greater consistency in calculating the embedded value of life insurance business, given the level of subjectivity often involved in making such calculations due to the long-term nature of life insurance contracts.
St James's said it had GBP65.6 billion in funds under management at the end of June, up from GBP55.5 billion a year before. Net inflows in the half hit GBP3.1 billion, up from GBP2.7 billion a year earlier, and the group said it has continued to retain client funds well.
The total number of advisers at the firm grew to 3,259 at the end of June, up 4.7% since the start of the year.
St James's declared an interim dividend of 12.33 pence, up from 10.72p.
"Despite continued volatility in world stock markets and political uncertainty across Europe, I am pleased to once again be reporting a strong first half performance and continued positive momentum in our business," said Chief Executive David Bellamy.
"Whilst the UK's decision to leave the EU has created a period of economic uncertainty in the UK, the challenges and responsibilities that many people face when considering how to manage their wealth and the ever changing tax considerations, remain. We believe we are extremely well placed to meet this increasing need for advice and remain focused on growing our number of qualified advisers and providing them with all the tools and support to deliver high quality outcomes for clients," he added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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