Shares of Polar Capital Holdings Plc (POLR.L) climbed about 7 percent Friday morning, as the company reported a higher profit and Assets under Management or AUM for fiscal year 2013. The investment management company said it remains optimistic on the outlook for the Group. The board also declared a higher interim dividend.
Announcing its preliminary results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, the company said its profit before tax increased to 15.35 million pounds from 9.62 million pounds in the previous year.
On a per share basis, earnings were 13.11 pence, higher than 8.13 pence per share a year ago.
Adjusted earnings for the current year were 14.77 pence, while the company posted 10.06 pence per share in the prior year.
AUM as at March 31, 2013, grew 42 percent to $7.21 billion, driven by strong inflows and improvement in most major markets in the latter half of the year.
Tim Woolley, chief executive of the company stated, "The Group has performed strongly over the financial year. Our funds have generated over US$1.6bn of net inflows during the period and investment performance has remained strong across the Group."
Annual revenues climbed to 51.69 million pounds from 39.94 million pounds in the preceding year.
Looking ahead, the company said it is optimistic on the outlook for its business and the achievement of further growth in AUM and profits in the current financial year.
The board has also declared a second interim dividend of 11 pence per share, up from 7.5 pence paid last year, to shareholders of record on July 12, 2013, payable on August 9. This will make the total dividend for the year to 13.0 pence per share, an increase of 44.4 percent from last year.
POLR.L is currently trading at 400 pence, up 25 pence or 6.67 percent on the LSE.
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