Monday 25 July 2016 1:05 pm

Julius Baer rides the wave of Brexit uncertainty to boost income

Julius Baer has become the latest in a string of companies which has reported bumping up its bottom line on Brexit uncertainty, as it issued its half year results today.

The figures

The Swiss bank reported operating income of 1.4bn Swiss francs (£1.1bn), up just one per cent compared with the first half of 2015. However, the company noted higher foreign exchange trading activity following the Brexit vote had helped to bolster its income position and its gross margin.

Meanwhile, Julius Baer also reported assets under management of 311bn Swiss francs, up four per cent from the end of 2015.

Reported net profit attributable to shareholders rocketed 828 per cent to 362m Swiss francs, while adjusted net profit increased by 270 per cent to 402m Swiss francs.

However, last year's results were lowered by a sizeable provision put aside to cover a settlement with the US Department of Justice. Excluding the provision, adjusted net profit increased by five per cent.

At time of writing, shares in the company, which is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, were trading up 4.1 per cent at 41.55 francs.

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Why it's important

As far as the currency swings caused by the Brexit vote are concerned, there are certainly winners and losers. Julius Baer has today marked itself out to be one of the winners.

However, another reason investors may have been eagerly watching the private bank is because it is currently undergoing a shakeup of its staff structure. So far this year, the company has signed up over 200 "relationship managers" to join it in 2016.

What Julius Baer said

"Our business momentum has improved since the first quarter of 2016, leading to increased inflows and record assets under management of 311bn Swiss francs," said Boris Collardi, chief executive of Julius Baer Group. "The refocusing on organic growth, without disregarding acquisition opportunities, is starting to pay off.

"The strengthened client-facing organisation and the significant relationship manager hiring successes will bolster the group's ability to grow its client asset base and achieve the medium-term targets in line with Julius Baer's focus on long-term and sustainable value creation."