Aberdeen Asset Management FY profit down 28% amid outflows

[LONDON] Aberdeen Asset Management posted a 28 per cent drop in pretax profit on Monday, hit by outflows across a range of products including its multi-asset and quantitative funds.

The investment manager has been hit hard by investors' waning appetite for emerging market equities over the past year, the asset class the firm is most well known for.

However it managed to post "healthy" net inflows into its emerging market stock funds in the final quarter of the financial year, and announced its dividend would be unchanged from 2015, providing some grounds for optimism.

Revenue in the year to end-September fell 14 per cent to £1 billion (S$1.8 billion), while underlying pretax profit fell to £352.7 million from £491.6 million in the year earlier period, it said in a statement.

Net outflows over the period were £32.8 billion, which included £8 billion from its multi asset and quantitative funds, although it said it had seen "healthy" net inflows into emerging markets equities in the final quarter.

Looking ahead, the firm offered a cautious outlook.

"Future political and economic events, including the UK's negotiations to exit the EU, the start of President-elect Trump's term in office and European elections, will contribute to ongoing volatility in global markets in the short term," chairman Simon Troughton said.

Total assets at year-end were £312.1 billion, up 10 per cent, helped by the acquisitions of FLAG Capital Management, Arden Asset Management, Advance Emerging Capital and Parmenion Capital Partners.

Amid the tough market backdrop, Aberdeen said it was on track to make annualised cost cuts of £70 million a year by March 2017.

REUTERS