Quilter hikes dividend as ongoing advice review drags on
Asset management firm Quilter has reported a 17 per cent rise in adjusted profit to £196m for 2024, alongside a two-percentage-point improvement in its operating margin to 29 per cent.
The wealth management firm, which provides advice and investment solutions across the high net worth and affluent market segments, recorded net inflows of £4.8bn. This boosed total assets under management and administration by 12 per cent, which reached £119.4bn by the year-end.
Revenue increased by seven per cent to £670m, driven by higher management fees and investment income on shareholder funds. Cost control measures limited expense growth to three per cent, and the cost base remained at £474m.
The company’s simplification programme achieved £35m in cost savings on a run-rate basis, with a further £15m targeted for completion by the end of 2025.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose by 13 per cent to 10.6p, with higher operating profit partially offset by a higher tax charge.
The board proposed a full-year dividend of 5.9p per share, up from 5.2p in 2023, reflecting the growth in earnings.
Quilter’s solvency II ratio stood at 219 per cent after accounting for the proposed final dividend, down from 271 per cent in 2023.
Despite these positive figures, Quilter recorded an IFRS loss after tax of £34m, a reversal from the £42m profit seen in the previous year.
Quilter’s remediation provision
Alongside the results, the company said it continued to navigate its ongoing advice review, with a Skilled Person Review expected to conclude in the second quarter of 2025.
It has set aside a customer remediation provision of £76m in relation to this process.
Quilter said that its analysis of historical data has indicated that, except in limited cases, clients who paid for ongoing service received it and the number of related customer complaints remains low.
However, the company has recognised that, in a small number of cases where clients may not have received the expected level of service, some form of client remediation will be necessary.
Steven Levin, chief executive officer, stated: “2024 was an excellent year in terms of net inflows, revenue momentum, cost discipline and profit growth. Both our High Net Worth and Affluent segments delivered good profit progress and significantly higher new business levels.
“These results demonstrate the benefit of our scale dual-distribution model which has made us the UK’s largest and fastest-growing retail advised platform provider. We have started the year well and look forward to building on this momentum in 2025 and beyond.”