FUM at the firm stood at £34.2bn by year end, up from £29.2bn at the end of 2015, thanks to the increasingly strong performance of the FTSE 100 following a shaky start to the year chairman Mark Nicholls said.
It reflected a 4.5% net annual growth rate, while profits before tax grew 6.4% to £74.9m, up from £70.4m a year earlier, if all costs related to acquisitions, head office relocation and charges were excluded.
Factoring in these costs, actual profit before tax was £50.1m for the year, a fall of 14.5% on 2015 when profits were £58.6m, and basic earnings per share fell from 97.4p to 78.9p.
Total underlying operating expenses reflected the firm’s investment into ‘strategic initiatives’ and increased 11.1% to £176.4m.
Nicholls said: “After a nervous start to 2016, the FTSE 100 performed increasingly strongly as the year progressed, largely reflecting the impact of a sharp fall in sterling after the EU referendum vote. Nevertheless, the recovery in the second half had a favourable impact on our financial performance, helping our total funds under management to grow by 17.1% to £34.2bn.
“In spite of continuing political and economic uncertainties, we will pursue our planned strategic growth initiatives and continue to take advantage of growth opportunities in the sector.”
A final dividend of 36p has been recommended by the Rathbones’ board for 2016, making a total of 57p for 2016, up 3.6% on 2015’s final price of 55p.
