Ashmore posts rise in profit despite assets under management dip
Ashmore Group today reported a rise in profits despite suffering a fall in assets under management due to market turmoil caused by the coronavirus crisis.
The figures
Ashmore’s assets under management fell nine per cent to $83.6bn (£65.1bn) in the year to the end of June.
Net revenue rose five per cent to £330.5m.
Pre-tax profit ticked up one per cent to £221.5m.
Ashmore proposed a final dividend of 12.10p, giving a two per cent increase in total dividends to 16.90p.
Why it’s interesting
The figures mark a resilient performance for Ashmore in the face of the coronavirus crisis.
The pandemic pushed down assets under management for the investment firm, which posted market losses of $8.1bn in the third quarter.
Ashmore said global capital markets had suffered “rapid and severe declines” that resulted in market-to-market losses in a broad range of asset classes.
However, the FTSE-listed firm posted a rise in pre-tax profit thanks to cost controls.
As a result, Ashmore recommended a dividend of 12.10p per share, pushing up its total dividends for the year.
Shares in the asset manager dipped 0.2 per cent in early trading.
Ashmore struck an upbeat tone for its outlook, saying markets were beginning to recover from March lows and client flows had continued to stabilise.
But it warned the economic fallout of the pandemic would continue for some time.
What Ashmore said
“Ashmore has delivered a solid operational and financial performance over the past year, against a backdrop of significant market dislocation in the third quarter as a result of the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic,” said chief executive Mark Coombs.
“The group’s business model, based on a consistent global operating platform, has proven its resilience in this challenging period and, after the initial negative impact in the third quarter, the investment processes are delivering outperformance as markets recover and client flows have continued to stabilise.
“The economic and social effects of the virus will continue for some time and the medium to long term impact remains uncertain. However, the huge diversity of emerging markets means that countries will be affected and will respond differently, thereby providing a wide range of potential return scenarios for active managers.”