LONDON (Reuters) - Asset manager Henderson (L:HGGH) beat forecasts with a 29 percent rise in first-half pretax profits though its chief executive said market turbulence in June had hit investor flows and this could continue in the next few months.
The London and Australia-listed money manager has no plans for more acquisitions this year after making several Australian purchases in June, CEO Andrew Formica said, as the firm announced plans to start a 25 million pound share buyback programme in the second half.
Assets under management rose 10 percent from a year earlier to 82.1 billion pounds, but fell 8 percent from three months ago, partly as a result of June outflows.
"June was a very negative month for markets across the board," Formica told reporters on a call, adding that the sale of the firm's 40 percent stake in TH Real Estate to TIAA-CREF had also contributed to the fall in assets.
He said July had been more stable for Henderson's business but concerns over Greece, China and an expected U.S. interest rate rise were causing volatility.
"There is a lot of uncertainty and low liquidity means you should expect August to be slower than normal."
The firm also announced several acquisitions in Australia in June.
"It's probably fair to say that you should not expect acquisitions from us for the remainder of this year," Formica said, adding that the firm would assess opportunities for purchases in Asia and the United States next year.
It reported underlying pretax profits from continuing operations of 117.4 million pounds, above a forecast of 108 million in a company-supplied consensus forecast.
Henderson said it would pay an interim dividend of 3.1 pence.
Its shares were up 2.5 percent to 272 pence at 0726 GMT. They have risen 26 percent this year, outperforming the FTSE 250 index (FTMC) but in line with UK peers such as Jupiter (L:JUP).
Jupiter and Schroders (L:SDR) both beat first-half forecasts although the latter gave a cautious outlook.