The sharp increase in the half-year headline loss at wealth management group Ashcourt Rowan (ARP) doesn't tell the whole story. In fact, and after adding back one-off items, cash profit more than doubled to £0.9m, while an ongoing efficiency focus trimmed operating costs by 6.5 per cent to £14.3m.
Expenditure on a change management programme reached £1.9m, but this process is now largely complete. And the disposal of its non-core pension administration business to Mattioli Woods (MTW) leaves Ashcourt focused on providing integrated financial planning and investment management services for private clients, charities and corporate bodies. Inevitably, these changes had an impact on new business levels - but October and November brought a significant increase in activity.
Assets under management held steady at £3.7bn, of which £1.6bn are managed on a discretionary basis. However, this will rise with the planned acquisition of the UK Wealth Management group of companies - which will come with £1.3bn of assets under management. The purchase will cost up to £14.25m in cash, funded by a planned £15.3m share placing at 185p a share.
Prior to these numbers, broker Peel Hunt was forecasting full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of £3.2m, giving adjusted EPS of 9.2p (from £1.2m and 5p in 2013), rising to 19.1p in 2015.
| ASHCOURT ROWAN (ARP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 192p | MARKET VALUE: | £51.8m | |
| TOUCH: | 190-194p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 206p | LOW: 144p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 165p* | NET CASH: | £7m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 15.7 | -1.31 | -4.55 | nil |
| 2013 | 15.2 | -2.45 | -8.82 | nil |
| % change | -3 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: - Payment: - *Includes intangible assets of £36m, or 133p a share | ||||
