St James’s Place PLC on Tuesday reported increased inflows and records fund under management, part of a ‘robust’ first half performance.
In response, shares in the Cirencester, England-based wealth manager leapt 23% to 684.50 pence in London on Tuesday. St James’s Place is no longer in the FTSE 100, having been demoted in the June quarterly reshuffle.
In the six months to June 30, gross inflows were £8.53 billion compared with £8.04 billion a year prior. Funds under management rose to £181.86 billion from £157.52 billion a year ago, and from £168.2 billion at the end of 2023.
IFRS pretax profit rose 4.4% to £225.1 million from £215.7 million. IFRS earnings per share rose 1.7% to 30.1 pence from 29.6p.
The interim dividend was cut to 6.00 pence from 15.83p. Further, the company announced an interim share buyback of £32.9 million, worth around 6.00 pence per share. It is due to be completed in the third quarter of the year.
St James’s Place said the market opportunity remains compelling given structural growth drivers and rising demand for advice. This provides a reinforced conviction that the firm ‘remains a strong business, with key and sustainable competitive advantages’.
St James’s Place said its ambition between now and the end of 2026 is to deliver a cost base reduction programme, which will hit £100 million or 15% per annum by 2027.
The firm anticipates cumulative net savings of around £500 million through to 2030.
The combination of cost savings, costs to achieve, and investing for growth, is expected to be broadly neutral to the cost base in 2024, 2025 and 2026 with benefits emerging thereafter.
Benefits are anticipated, before tax, of £30 million in 2027, £50 million in 2028, and £70 million from 2029 onwards.
This further underpins the ambition to double the underlying cash result from 2023 to 2030.
Chief Executive Officer Mark FitzPatrick said he was encouraged by a ‘robust’ business performance in the first half.
‘We have seen high levels of activity and engagement between our advisers and our clients, contributing to positive flows. Helped by strong investment returns for our clients, we have achieved record funds under management.’
‘It’s evident that we remain in good shape,’ he added.
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