Polar Capital confident after weaker first half

Polar Capital reported assets under management of £19.1bn at the end of its first half on Monday, slightly decreasing from the £19.2bn reported on 31 March.

The AIM-traded firm said assets under management had fallen further by 10 November to £18.9bn.

It did report a significant improvement in net outflows, which amounted to £581m for the six months ended 30 September.

That marked a substantial decrease of £264m compared to the same period in the prior year, aided by inflows into several of the group’s funds.

The core operating profit for the first half totalled £22.5m, reflecting a decrease from the £25.8m reported on 30 September last year.

Its profit before tax for the same period amounted to £21.1m, down from the £23m reported a year ago.

Basic earnings per share came in at 16.2p, decreasing from the 17.7p reported a year earlier, while adjusted diluted total earnings per share fell to 17.2p from 19.0p year-on-year.

Polar Capital declared an interim dividend of 14p per ordinary share, consistent with the dividend paid in January.

“The past six months have been a challenging period for equity markets driven by a volatile macro environment,” said chief executive officer Gavin Rochussen.

“Like many of our peers, Polar Capital has not been immune from these challenges, but net outflows as a percentage of opening AuM have been relatively modest and, in fact, have materially slowed vs the prior comparable period.

“This was helped by net inflows into a number of funds, namely our Polar Capital Emerging Market Stars Fund, Polar Capital European ex-UK income Fund, Polar Capital Japan Value Fund and Polar Capital Smart Energy Fund.”

Rochussen said the company continued investing in its digital marketing reach and had intensified its client contact interactions to use its significant remaining fund capacity.

“This, given our differentiated range of sector, thematic and regional fund strategies, gives us confidence that we will perform for our clients and shareholders over the long term.”

At 1113 GMT, shares in Polar Capital Holdings were up 2.45% at 462.55p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.