Proactive Investors - Abrdn PLC (LON:ABDN) shares rose after it reported a slight improvement in profit and progress with its transformation despite fund outflows continuing.
The asset manager and owner of the Interactive Investor investment platform saw net outflows of roughly £1 billion in the first half of 2024, which was an improvement on the £6.5 billion outflow a year ago, as it saw higher gross inflows of £31.3 billion partly offset by net outflows in equities, multi-asset and from insurance partners.
This means net operating revenues fell 12% to £406 million.
However, adjusted operating profits inched 1% higher to £128 million, as costs were cut 9%, partly from a 13% reduction in front- and middle-office staff.
Interim chief executive Jason Windsor, who has been temporarily promoted from chief financial officer after the company parted ways with CEO Stephen Bird in May after four troubled years, said that there had been progress made with the transformation programme announced in January.
Abrdn is “firmly on track” to meet targets for the year, he said, namely cost savings of around £60 million for the full year and at least £150 million of annualised savings by the end of 2025, as well as making “a positive impact on performance, particularly in Investments, which is the main focus of the programme”.
Actions to reduce outflows included making improvements to the group’s “service proposition”, launching a new cash savings solution and a “strategic reprice” of its adviser proposition to be more competitive.
The interim dividend was kept at 7.3p per share, with Windsor’s outlook statement acknowledging that despite an improvement in market conditions in the first half, “the outlook for global financial markets remains uncertain”.
Shares in the FTSE 250-listed company, which earlier this year fell to an all-time low below 135p, rose 3.5% in early deals on Tuesday to 165.65p.