Flagging investor sentiment towards emerging markets continued to weigh on the performance of asset manager Ashmore (ASHM) during the first half. The emerging market specialist's assets under management fell 16 per cent to $49.4bn (£34.2bn) in the six months to December, with market falls accounting for $3.8bn of this loss. This effect was compounded by outflows across its sovereign debt, corporate credit and blended portfolios.
The strength of the US dollar restrained its local currency holdings, with the unhedged index return down 11 per cent. But it also meant performance wasn't as bad for the dollar-denominated debt holdings, not to mention that the majority of the manager's fees, and a large part of its cash, are also held in the greenback. This did not provide quite the same benefit as last year, though. Favourable currency movements generated $8m in revenue gains in the reported period, compared with $20m during FY2014.
This, coupled with a 26 per cent fall in management fees to $98.7m, meant net revenue fell by almost a third to £116m. Alternatives were a rare brighter spot, reporting $500m of net inflows during the period. Management says it will direct investor funds towards what it sees as the long-term emerging market growth trends of infrastructure and healthcare.
Broker Numis expects adjusted EPS of 13.4p for the full year, compared with 19.3p in 2015.
ASHMORE GROUP (ASHM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 205p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.45bn | |
| TOUCH: | 204.8-205.8p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 335p | LOW: 194p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 8.1% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 88p | NET CASH: | £342m | |
| Half-year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 144 | 110.7 | 12.0 | 4.55 |
| 2015 | 110 | 62.7 | 6.9 | 4.55 |
| % change | -24 | -43 | -43 | - |
Ex-div: 3 Mar Payment: 1 Apr | ||||
