Liontrust Asset Management (LIO) boosted its adjusted pre-tax profit by a third to £5.1m at the half-year stage. That's thanks to growth in assets under management, which rose 12 per cent to £3.8bn in the first half - and had hit £4.2bn by 7 November.
Crucially, there was a £284m net inflow of funds. This was down from £315m a year earlier, but still allowed the group to boast that it has enjoyed net inflows for 17 consecutive quarters now. The inflow is also impressive considering that retail sales across the industry fell to their lowest level since January 2013, according to the Investment Management Association.
The strong performance partly reflected a favourable trading climate. More people are managing their own savings, while there have been significant changes introduced to open up the post-retirement market - notably the removal of the obligation to buy an annuity. The group's fund management performance was also impressive: with one exception, all its actively managed funds ranked in the top quartile of their sector. Improvements in sales and marketing also helped. And a new customer relationship management system and website are expected to be running by the end of the year.
Analysts at Numis Securities upgraded their estimates. They now forecast full-year pre-tax profit of £11.3m, giving EPS of 20.3p (from £8.3m and 15.1p in 2013-14).
| LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT (LIO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 248p | MARKET VALUE: | £113m | |
| TOUCH: | 247-253p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 284p | LOW: 208p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.6% | PE RATIO: | 23 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 48p* | NET CASH: | £12.9m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 13.6 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 1 |
| 2014 | 15.8 | 3.2 | 7.7 | 2 |
| % change | +16 | +153 | +229 | +100 |
Ex-div: 20 Nov Payment: 19 Dec *Includes intangible assets of £6.2m, or 14p a share | ||||
