Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN) delivered another polished performance which saw underlying pre-tax profits increase 15 per cent to £348m and the value of assets under management (AUM) rise by 10 per cent to £187bn. Shareholders were rewarded with a hefty hike in the dividend and analysts at Numis Securities predict a further 20 per cent-plus rise in the payout to 14p a share in the current financial year.
The rise in AUM was entirely thanks to a positive investment performance in equities, where assets rose from £75.1bn to £100.7bn. This helped to boost group performance fees by 31 per cent to £47.5m while net management fees rose from £739m to £813m. Operating margins were up from 39.5 per cent to 40.6 per cent, and the quality of income remains high, with recurring fees accounting for 94 per cent of net revenue.
New business won totalled £36bn, and while this was offset by the same amount of outflows, most of the inflows were into higher-margin mandates while business lost mainly came out of lower-margin segregated mandates. Indeed, investors continued to show a strong appetite for emerging markets products, and the group's flagship emerging market debt fund passed the $2bn (£1.25bn) for the first time.
Analysts at Numis are forecasting current year adjusted pre-tax profits of £403m and EPS of 25.5p.
| ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT (ADN) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 344p | MARKET VALUE: | £4.08bn | |
| TOUCH: | 343-344p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 346p | LOW: 179p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.3% | PE RATIO: | 18 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 92p* | NET CASH: | £266m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.43 | 61 | 4.6 | 5.7 |
| 2009 | 0.42 | 11 | -1.7 | 6.0 |
| 2010 | 0.64 | 126 | 8.3 | 7.0 |
| 2011 | 0.95 | 224 | 15.0 | 9.0 |
| 2012 | 1.05 | 270 | 18.9 | 11.5 |
| % change | +10 | +21 | +26 | +28 |
Ex-div: 5 Dec Payment: 24 Jan *Includes intangible assets of £994m, or 84p a share | ||||
