Brewin says regulation hits profits
BRITISH financial services group Brewin Dolphin yesterday said it posted a 25 per cent increase in underlying pre-tax profits during the year to 26 September as it brushed off the impact of higher regulatory costs.
Brewin Dolphin said profits excluding redundancy costs, contract renewal payments and the amortisation of client relationships was £40.2m for the full-year.
After exceptional costs, pre-tax profits were £31.4m, a 43 per cent increase from a year earlier.
Brewin Dolphin said the year had seen a “material rise” in the costs of regulation as British authorities shake up selling of financial services after the financial crisis and that the company planned to find ways to mitigate the cost.
“Your board believes that the impact of regulation upon the business is unlikely to reduce in the foreseeable future,” the company said.
The investment management business, which accounted for 96 per cent of group turnover, saw an 18 per cent rise in revenues while total funds under management increased 13 per cent to £23.3bn.
The company proposed a final dividend of 3.55p per share, bringing the total dividend to 7.1p.