(Alliance News) - Ashmore Group PLC on Wednesday said its assets under management fell alongside its half-year profit and net revenue, although it was confident that global macroeconomic headwinds across 2022 were now receding.
The London-based emerging markets investment manager said assets under management were USD57.2 billion on December 31, 11% lower than USD64.0 billion on June 30, attributing this to net outflows of USD7.6 billion, partially offset by USD800 million in aggregate positive investment performance.
For the six months that ended December 31, pretax profit more than halved to GBP53.8 million from GBP116.0 million a year earlier, while net revenue fell 20% to GBP110.3 million from GBP138.5 million.
Ashmore cited global macroeconomic headwinds in 2022 as cause for the declining performance, arguing it delivered strong relative performance "typical for Ashmore's active investment processes at this stage in a recovery cycle".
These headwinds included the US Federal Reserve's "aggressive" tightening policy.
It said 75% of assets under management were outperforming benchmarks over the half-year period.
Ashmore argued global macroeconomic headwinds were now receding, noting China reopening its economy supporting local trade and several emerging countries benefiting from monetary policy decisions taken over the past two years.
This means, according to Ashmore, that emerging markets valuations remain at attractive levels, with significant discounts to developed markets assets.
"The global macro environment in 2022 was complex, but the headwinds it produced are now receding and leading to an increase in investor risk appetite," said Chief Executive Officer Mark Coombs.
"This, combined with highly attractive valuations across equities and fixed income in emerging markets and low investor allocations, mean that emerging markets are set to continue outperforming as markets recover. Ashmore is well-positioned to benefit from this environment, with active management delivering alpha across equity and fixed income strategies."
It declared an interim dividend to shareholders of 4.8 pence per share, unchanged from a year ago.
Shares in Ashmore were up 0.7% to 275.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Greg Rosenvinge, Alliance News reporter
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Ashmore (ASHM)
