Charles Stanley ups dividend, sees improved market

(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."