Companies and economies around the world continued to feel the effects of the coronavirus-enforced lockdowns during the second half of 2020. Investment Week reports on how they have done since then.
AJ Bell
AJ Bell has reported increased pre-tax profits for the first half of the year of £22.7m and increase of 28% on the same period last year.
Its half-year results, released today (21 May) said revenue was up 22% to £60.9m with net asset up 8% in the period to £93.3m.
Total assets under administration (AUA) increased by 1% over the last year, closing at £48.3bn. However, AUA fell by 8% in the six-month period due to "adverse market and other movements".
Total customer numbers increased by a record 30,113 to 262,179, up 22% over the last 12 months and 13% in H1. Total net inflows were £2.1bn (HY19: £1.8bn), driven by platform net inflows of £2.5bn (HY19: £2.1bn).
Chief executive Andy Bell said the business had performed well during a time when the "country faces one of its most significant challenges in decades".
"Our focus has been to keep our people safe while continuing to provide the vital services our customers need during times of market volatility and being here to service their needs.
This unwavering attention on our customers' needs has helped us deliver strong organic growth in revenue and profitability."
He added: "The effects of the Covid-19 crisis are likely to be felt for a long time, although the precise impact it will have on markets, investor sentiment and economic policy is hard to predict.
"However, we have operated profitably during periods of market volatility and low interest rates before and our business model has proved very resilient.
"The long-term growth drivers of the platform market remain in place and our strong capital position, coupled with a buoyant trading performance mean the outlook for the future of the business remains positive."
Brewin Dolphin
Brewin Dolphin saw assets under management (AUM) slip to £41.4bn, from £45bn, in the six months to 31 March 2020, due mainly to market movements and despite net inflows of £500m.
The firm said it would maintain its interim dividend at 4.4p per share, but warned its final payout would likely be at the lower end of its 60% to 80% of annual adjusted diluted earnings-per-share payout ratio.
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Brewin said its total discretionary inflows of £500m represented an annualised growth rate of 2.5%, with discretionary funds reducing by around £5bn to £35.7bndue to negative market performance.
Meanwhile, its total AUM excluding from acquisitions - which added £2.7bn - decreased by 14%.
The firm made an adjusted profit of £36.5m, an increase of 3%, while it retains net cash of £144m on its balance sheet and a capital adequacy ratio of 204%.
CEO David Nicol said the results were "resilient", "notwithstanding the negative impact of Covid-19 on global markets towards the end of the second quarter".
Nicol continued: "We saw a greater level of direct inflows in the first half, with strong demand for integrated wealth management service.
"We have a strong balance sheet and good cash generation although we need to be mindful of the high level of uncertainty for the remainder of the financial year. We continue to monitor the impacts on the business and maintain strong cost discipline."
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Elsewhere, Nicol said Brewin had "successfully integrated the people and assets of our Irish business and launched new technology to enhance the user-experience for WealthPilot".
"We are making significant progress on both Client Engage and the custody and settlement system, which we are confident will be delivered in the second half of the year, supporting our growth ambitions and enabling greater efficiencies."
