British wealth manager Charles Stanley has reported pre-tax profit of £11.4m for the year ended 31 March 2018, a surge of 30% compared to £8.8m a year ago.
The wealth manager’s annual revenue increased 7% to £150.9m from £141.6m last year.
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Funds under management and administration totalled £23.8bn at the end of March 2018, down 1% from £24bn in the previous year.
The business’ cash balance rose 12% to £65.6m from £58.4m last year, while core business operating margin improved to 8.8% from 7.1%.
Dividend for 2018 was 8 pence per share, versus 6 pence per share in 2017.
Charles Stanley CEO Paul Abberley said: “2018 has been another year of progress for Charles Stanley. We completed the disposal of non-core activities, further built profitability and began to scale the business. The Group’s transformation continues apace as we implement our strategy and deliver progress in the underlying key metrics. That said, we recognise the need to accelerate the improvement in our financial metrics to match what is being delivered qualitatively across the business.
“The focus for the 2019 financial year will be on driving top line revenue growth whilst improving operational efficiency and in turn harnessing operational gearing.”
