(Alliance News) - Ninety One PLC and Ltd said on Tuesday its interim profit shrank as the money manager struggled with lower levels of new business and portfolio de-risking by clients amid economic turmoil.
For six months that ended September 30, pretax profit was GBP110.6 million, down 16% from GBP132.1 million a year prior.
Adjusted operating profit was down 6.7% to GBP107.9 million from GBP115.6 million, translating into adjusted operating profit margin of 32.6%, compared to 35.2%.
Revenue dropped by 2.9% to GBP384.3 million from GBP395.9 million.
Assets under management were GBP132.3 billion on September 30, down 8.1% from GBP143.9 billion on March 31 and down 5.5% from GBP140.0 billion a year before. The decrease was recorded across all asset classes including equities and fixed-income securities.
In the first half, Ninety One suffered net outflows of GBP3.2 billion, compared to GBP3.9 billion in net inflows a year before, amid client de-risking and lower levels of new business. Market and currency movements were negative GBP8.4 billion, compared to positive GBP5.2 billion a year before.
Ninety One declared an interim dividend of 6.5 pence, down 5.8% from 6.9p.
"Rising inflation and interest rates, increased geopolitical uncertainty and sharply lower financial asset prices contributed to challenging operating conditions. The high levels of client engagement could not counter the impact of this environment on our results," said Hendrik du Toit, founder & chief executive of Ninety One.
Looking ahead, Du Toit said he expects tough conditions to persist for the foreseeable future.
Shares in Johannesburg were down 4.1% at ZAR42.71 early Tuesday, while the stock shed 3.6% at 212.00p in London.
By Artwell Dlamini; artwelldlamini@alliancenews.com
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Ninety One (N91)