Outflows dent Henderson’s bottom line
ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN fund manager Henderson reported a dip in profits for 2009 as outflows countered the effect of recovering markets and positive investment performance.
The group, which last year took over struggling rival New Star, said recurring pre-tax profits after amortisation and charges was £63m, versus the £80.3m posted in 2008.
Henderson said that at the end of 2009 it managed assets of £58.1bn, up from £49.5bn posted in 2008 and broadly in line with an estimate of the £57.7bn forecasted by analysts.
Net fund outflows were £4.6bn, with higher margin net inflows of £700m. Institutional net inflows were £600m and cash funds net outflows £600m. New Star Institutional Managers (NSIM) net outflows amounted to £1.1bn and net outflows from insurer Pearl were £4.2bn.
Favourable market and foreign exchange rate movements contributed £5.1bn to assets during 2009.
Chief executive Andrew Formica said: “We are optimistic about the outlook for markets, although we expect that volatility will remain high throughout the year.”
Formica also credited chief financial officer Shirley Garrood and managing director David Jacob’s contribution to the group’s performance. The 2009 dividend is unchanged at 6.1p.