AJ Bell profit rises a third as firm completes record year
AJ Bell’s first year as a publicly listed company was the most profitable ever for the broker and online trader, with profit rising nearly a third.
Read more: AJ Bell reports growth in customers and assets under administration
The figures
Revenue at the investment platform rose 17 per cent in the year, up to £104.9m from £89.7m in 2018.
Profit also saw an increase to £37.7m, up 33 per cent on last year’s £28.4m.
AJ Bell announced a final dividend of 3.33p per share, taking the total ordinary dividend for the year to 4.83p a share.
The firm also added 34,154 customers in 2019, with their total number of retail clients reaching 232,066.
Why it’s interesting
Last December the broker and online trader made its London Stock Market debut to hit a market cap of £651m.
Its first year of public trading has been AJ Bell’s most successful ever, which the company put down to its ability to attract and retain customers despite a volatile political backdrop.
The firm added that it was well placed to benefit in the coming years if it continued to meet customer needs, with growth drivers for investment platforms strong in the UK.
Read more: Investment platform AJ Bell dismisses Brexit concerns in maiden results
What AJ Bell said
Chief executive Andy Bell said: “These results are a strong endorsement of the business model and growth strategy that we outlined in the run up to our IPO a year ago.
“Our focus on the needs of our customers and helping them to invest has enabled us to continue to add new customers to the platform and retain existing ones.
“The structural growth drivers for investment platforms in the UK remain strong and if we continue to meet the needs of customers we are well placed to benefit from these over the coming years.”