Even allowing for the recovery in the market that saw the FTSE 100 finish 2009 22 per cent higher than it began, after falling sharply in the first quarter, St James's has still done better than expected.
On a European embedded value (EEV) basis, it swung from losses of £116m in 2008 to profits of £363m in 2009, although IRFS profits show a fall as a result of lower interest income. Other yardsticks show good growth with costs coming down and net funds inflow coming in over a third higher at £2.3bn, increasing funds under management by 31 per cent to £21.4bn. After an 8 per cent fall in new business in the first half, inflows recovered well in the second half, with a strong showing in the final quarter, to end up by 5 per cent with funds under management at a record £21.4bn. St James's is clearly helped by its client loyalty, retaining over 95 per cent of existing clients' funds. And new business profit rose by a quarter with a good increase in margin thanks to a better product mix and cost reduction.
ST JAMES'S PLACE (STJ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 255p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.23bn | |
| TOUCH: | 254-255p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 296p | LOW: 143p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.8% | PE RATIO: | 31 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 112p* | EMBEDDED VALUE: | 285p | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Net premiums (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 73.4 | 127.0 | 10.8 | 3.15 |
| 2006 | 67.4 | 180.0 | 19.4 | 3.65† |
| 2007 | 69.9 | 103.0 | 16.8 | 4.30 |
| 2008 | 59.9 | -31.0 | 14.2 | 4.39 |
| 2009 | 55.0 | 28.5 | 8.30 | 4.50 |
| % change | - | - | - | +3 |
Ex-div: 3 Mar Payment: 18 May *Includes intangible assets of £697m, or 144p a share. †Excludes 6.35p special dividend. | ||||
On the investment management side, four new launches are planned for April with more in the pipeline later in the year.
