The regulatory burden may have ratcheted-up a notch or two for asset managers, but Alpha Financial Markets Consulting (AFM) chief executive Euan Fraser says a bigger driver of new business has been rising cost pressures on the industry. So, the group has been busy overhauling back office systems and advising on M&A integration during its maiden year as a publicly traded stock. After stripping out IPO costs, adjusted cash profits were up more than two thirds to £13.9m.
While the UK accounted for the lion’s share of revenue, the group made solid inroads into international markets. As well as opening its first Asia office in Singapore (at the request of one of its clients), it also entered the fray in Switzerland. However, Mr Fraser says the US market offers the biggest growth opportunities. To this end, it added offices in four locations, including Los Angeles, in addition to its existing operations in Boston and New York. Geographical expansion also meant group headcount grew more than a quarter.
The acquisition of German data business TrackTwo – renamed Alpha Data Solutions – was one of two new practices established during the year. Management also plans to launch a fintech and innovation division, which will partly focus on the use of block chain in the asset management industry.
Analysts at house broker Berenberg expect adjusted cash profits of £15.3m during the year to March 2019, giving EPS of 11.4p (2018: £13.9m, 10.3p).
| ALPHA FINANCIAL MARKETS CONSULTING (AFM) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 207p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 211m | |
| TOUCH: | 204-210p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 207p | LOW: 159p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.5% | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 81p* | NET CASH: | £10m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2017** | 49.2 | -3.9 | -5.5 | na |
| 2018 | 66 | 1.5 | -0.5 | 5.17 |
| % change | +34 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | 02 Aug | |||
| Payment: | 12 Sep | |||
| *includes intangible assets of £75.5m, or 74p a share **Pre-IPO figures | ||||
