Abrdn posts drop in first-half profits, cautious on outlook

Asset manager Abrdn posted a drop in first-half profit and revenue on Tuesday and struck a cautious note on the outlook.

Adjusted pre-tax profit fell to £99m from £163m in the same period a year ago, while adjusted operating profit slid 28% to £115m and fee-based revenues were down 8% to £696m. Abrdn said this was driven by market movements.

On an IFRS basis, the company swung to a pre-tax loss of £320m from a profit of £113m.

Total net outflows during the half were £35.9bn, up from £5.6bn a year earlier. This largely reflects the final £24.4bn tranche of Lloyds Banking Group’s withdrawal. Assets under management and advice declined to £508bn from £542bn in the first half of 2021, reflecting lower markets and the final LBG tranche withdrawal.

Chief executive officer Stephen Bird said: "We are continuing to deliver on our priorities and whilst the external market environment has worsened and it will likely take us longer to deliver our targets, it is the right strategy and we have the team and the capital resources to execute it well.

"Looking forward into the second half, we will see revenue tailwinds from a full six months' contribution from ii and from performance fees. We are expecting continued positive flows in Adviser and Personal Wealth. Markets have shown some signs of improvement in July and if this trend continues it will provide a further revenue tailwind."