Ashmore team sells shares as profits hit
EMERGING markets fund manager Ashmore unveiled a £35.3m fast-track share placing that will see its employees reduce their holdings in the company by 2.2 per cent, as it reported a fall in full-year profits.
The group said banking giants Goldman Sachs and UBS are to oversee the sale of 15.6m shares to institutional investors under an “accelerated bookbuild” at 226p per share.
News of the share placing came as Ashmore reported pre-tax profits of £159.8m in the year to end-June, compared to £196.2m in the previous year, and said total net revenues fell 15 per cent to £203.5m amid increasing costs of currency hedging.
Finance director Graeme Dell said: “Expect a slow recovery. It’s not like you’ll suddenly see the taps turn on because you are continuing to see people need liquidity.”
But chief executive Mark Coombs said “initiatives” are being developed that he expects “will bring significant value over the coming years”.
Analysts were divided in their response to the results. KBC Peel Hunt and Evolution reiterated a “Buy” recommendation while Noble Group said Sell and Singer voiced frustration at the pace of recovery in money flows.
Total net outflows of client investment for the year were $7.5bn (£4.56bn), of which $5.8bn came in the first half.
Shares of the firm dived by more than five per cent on the results and share placing news, before recovering to a modest gain in later trading.