(Sharecast News) - Charles Stanley increased its final dividend as the investment manager said market sentiment was looking up after a decline in annual profit.
Underlying pretax profit fell to £17.2m from £19.3m in the year to the end of March from a year earlier as revenue dipped to £171.2m from £173m. Reported pretax profit fell to £13.4m from £17.3m.
Charles Stanley increased its final dividend to 9p a share from 6p a year earlier, taking the annual payout to 12p a share - up by a third from a year earlier.
Funds under management rose 26.7% to £25.6bn though market disruption reduced average funds under management to £23.2bn from £24.2bn. Interest income fell 69% because of lower base rates and financial planing revenue rose 15% to a record £10m.
Paul Abberley, chief executive, said: "Revenues and profits were inevitably impacted by market conditions but the results highlight the resilience of the business. This is a strong performance given the prevailing economic circumstances.
"We look forward to the coming year, confident of further strategic and operational progress, and expect stock market sentiment to remain positive."
26 Nov 2020 13:57
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