Negative sentiment towards emerging markets continues to dampen prospects for Ashmore (ASHM). Assets under management (AUM) at the specialist investment manager fell by 15 per cent year on year to $63.7bn (£41.1bn). The decline was made up of $4.5bn in net outflows and a $6.2bn loss from investments.
The fall in AUM reduced net management fees to £133m, but Ashmore still managed to double net profits to £92.7m on the back of higher performance fees and favourable currency translations. Indeed, performance fees came in at £7m, a 10-fold increase from a year earlier, while a stronger dollar resulted in foreign exchange gains of £21.4m, against an £18.5m loss in the 2013 half-year. The interim figures also benefited from lower non-staff operating costs.
Ashmore was forced to meet $9.8bn in redemptions during the period as some large investment mandates were pulled in blended debt and equities. But this isn't the first time that Ashmore has had to contend with volatility in emerging markets. Management stressed its track record of exploiting "value opportunities for clients in the past".
Prior to these figures, JPMorgan Cazenove forecast an adjusted EPS of 21.6p for 2014-15 (from 18.5p last year).
| ASHMORE GROUP (ASHM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 312p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.2bn | |
| TOUCH: | 310-312p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 379p | LOW: 249p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 5.3% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 88p | NET CASH: | £386m | |
| Half-year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 (restated) | 155.3 | 80.8 | 9.4 | 4.45 |
| 2014 | 144.4 | 110.7 | 12.0 | 4.55 |
| % change | -7 | +37 | +28 | +2 |
Ex-div: 05 Mar Payment: 10 Apr | ||||
