Aberdeen hit by fund outflows

To tackle this, the company is pushing forward with its strategy to diversify the business, reduce costs and protect cash. A combination of the first two factors helped lift operating profit by 3 per cent to £367m, while the third paid for a rise in the final dividend from 11.25p to 12p. The top line also grew as a first full-year contribution from the SWIP acquisition offset the impact of weak markets, outflows and a drop in performance fees. The cost synergies in that acquisition exceeded expectations, and the group has identified £50m of annual operating costs that could be cut from the wider business. The savings will partially take effect during the current financial year.

But these steps will have little effect if the pace of outflows does not slow down. Aberdeen lost a net £16.4bn from its equity funds over the year, compared with £13bn in FY2014 - itself considered an annus horribilis. The manager was also forced to stress its commitment to long-term investment in response to criticism that its equities strategies had undershot their benchmarks - a situation it said was "never comfortable".

It was a year of acquisitions to diversify the business into alternative asset classes and to boost the company's exposure to retail investors. On the morning media call Mr Gilbert was also keen to reject reports that the manager has been courting potential acquirers.

Prior to these results, analysts at Numis expected pre-tax profit of £437m and EPS of 26.3p for the year to September 2016, down from the £492m and 30p earned in FY2015.