WH Ireland has seen profits dip over the past year after losses across its wealth management arm ballooned.
Group revenue increased 11% in the year ended 31 March 2022 to £32m, up from £28.7m a year ago.
Despite the turbulence following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which coincided with the end of its financial year, assets under management rose 14% to £2.4bn.
However, underlying profit before tax came up short at £1.4m, a £0.1m drop from last year, thanks to widening losses across its wealth management arm.
WH Ireland’s wealth management business generated £15.8m in revenue, but after factoring in rising costs, it slumped to a £2.1m pre-tax loss. This was a substantial jump from the division’s £889,000 loss in FY 2021.
A decent chunk of its costs related to the £7.4m acquisition of rival DFM Harpsden Wealth Management, which completed during the period. Despite the new addition, total assets in its wealth management arm remained stuck at £1.6bn.
Ultimately, these losses were offset by its capital markets business, which ended the year with £2.8m in profits, slightly lower than 2021 (£3.4m).
However, chief executive Philip Wale (pictured) warned that difficult market conditions have had a “significant impact” on volumes and transaction levels in its stockbroking division in the new financial year.
“The economic and global environment is probably as volatile and testing as any I have experienced in my career,” he said.
“We therefore remain cautious of the very short term but remain confident that we are ready to take advantage of conditions when they improve given our strengthened and improving platform across both divisions.”
