Hargreaves Lansdown tops up dividend as profits rise 10 per cent | City A.M.
Investment manager Hargreaves Lansdown gave investors a summer treat as it hiked the dividend on the back of impressive full-year results.
Despite the decent results, shares in the company were down three per cent in early trading on Tuesday.
The figures
Before tax profits shot up 10 per cent to £292.4m, as it added a total of £7.6bn in new business. That brings the total number of the firm’s clients to just over the 1m mark, an increase of 137,000 from last year.
Net revenue jumped 16 per cent to £447.5m, leading the firm to increase the total dividend by 38 per cent to 40p per share.
Why it’s important
Despite the good results, Hargreaves Lansdown urged caution over the negative effects that Brexit could have on investments in the near future.
It said that “prevailing political and economic turbulence” was now taking its toll on investor confidence, although it added it was confident it would continue to grow its share in the market.
Today’s news follows previous strong results in May, when it said it brought in £3.3bn in new business.
What Hargreaves Lansdown said
Chris Hill, chief executive, said:
We have had another year of strong growth, in client numbers, net new business, market share and profits, driven by our continued commitment to provide excellent levels of service. Our continued investment into our people, technology and marketing helps our clients to engage with their savings and investments.
This provides them with the knowledge and confidence to make decisions and our range of solutions makes it easy for them to act. We have a huge responsibility to help more than a million clients at a time when they have never needed our help more, and we are uniquely well positioned to provide them with the solutions they need.
I am pleased we have been able do all of this whilst also reinstating a special dividend to shareholders, resulting in a 38 per cent increase in the final dividend.
Read more: Hargreaves Lansdown’s Select Fund takes a stake in Schroders