Hargreaves Lansdown, a leading retail-investment platform, has announced a rise in pretax profit for the fiscal year 2023. Despite low investor confidence, the company’s net interest margins and customer savings have offset lower asset values and volumes.
Strong Financial Performance
Hargreaves Lansdown’s pretax profit for the year ended June 30 reached £402.7 million, surpassing the previous year’s figure of £269.2 million. This result exceeded the consensus estimate of £381.2 million provided by Visible Alpha. The company’s revenue also experienced growth, increasing from £583.0 million to £735.1 million, surpassing the estimated figure of £717.6 million.
Growth in Assets under Administration
The retail-investment platform reported a sizable increase in its assets under administration, reaching £134.0 billion at the end of the period. This represents an 8% growth compared to the previous year. The growth can be attributed to positive market movements and £4.8 billion in net new business.
Future Outlook
Chief Executive Dan Olley acknowledged the challenging economic climate and its impact on investor confidence. He expects the current conditions to persist in the coming financial year, potentially affecting net new investment flows and dealing volumes. However, he believes that Active Savings will continue to benefit from ongoing investor demand.
Final Dividend Increase
The company’s board has declared a final dividend of 41.5 pence per share, representing an increase compared to the previous year’s payout of 39.7 pence.