Liontrust Asset Management 's (LIO) performance last year would seem to support the adage 'bigger is not always better'. The UK-biased active equity manager is much smaller than the majority of its main market peers in the sector, yet that didn't hold it back from winning plenty of new business. During the 12 months to the end of March it gained net inflows of £482m, almost twice what it added the previous year.
The acquisition of Alliance Trust Investments post-year-end brought with it a further £2.5bn in assets, taking total assets under management to £9.3bn by mid-June. Management said the purchase would give it greater exposure to institutional investors and sustainable investment. However, costs associated with the deal, along with increased investment in its trading systems and staff incentivisation schemes, pushed up administration expenses by a fifth to £42.5m. This took a chunk out of pre-tax profit. On an adjusted basis, stripping out these charges, pre-tax profit was up 18 per cent to £17.2m.
The acquisition of Argonaut's European income business last year boosted retail assets by £272m, added to segmental net inflows of £368m. Institutional business was weaker, with net inflows of just £3m.
Analysts at Numis expect adjusted pre-tax profit of £24.2m for the 12 months to March 2018, giving EPS of 38p (from £17.2m and 29.6p in 2016).
LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT (LIO) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 460p | MARKET VALUE: | £228m | |
| TOUCH: | 453-460p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 470p | LOW: 235p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.3% | PE RATIO: | 30 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 54p | NET CASH: | £17m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 20.4 | -3.9 | -11.2 | 1 |
| 2014 | 28.5 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 3 |
| 2015 | 36.8 | 7.3 | 14.6 | 8 |
| 2016 | 45.0 | 9.4 | 16.5 | 12 |
| 2017 | 51.5 | 9.1 | 15.2 | 15 |
| % change | +14 | -3 | -8 | +25 |
Ex-div: 22 Jun Payment: 19 Jul | ||||
