Rathbones profit up 30pc as funds and fee income grow
UPMARKET investment manager Rathbones yesterday said strong organic growth in its funds was behind a 30 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to £20.6m in the first half of the year.
Strong inflows caused funds under management to jump 4.7 per cent to £16.4bn in the period compared with £15.6bn in the first half of 2010.
Liverpool-based Rathbones beat analyst expectations for just over 20 per cent growth in pre-tax profits, while its fund growth far outstripped the 0.9 per cent rise in the FTSE APCIMS index, a performance measure for the sector.
Chief executive Andy Pomfret said Rathbones had “seen the full benefit of recent acquisitions and continuing net organic growth”. He said the outlook remained uncertain, especially for European banks, but said the company was “well positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities.”
Net inflows were £616m, an 8.4 per cent annual rise, while it had added new charges to client fees and as such expected higher operating margins.
Peel Hunt analyst Stuart Duncan said the fund growth was “impressive” and said the firm was “well placed to deliver continued growth”.