Quilter reports growth as bosses celebrate hitting cost-cutting targets early
Quilter reported that the firm’s cost-saving measures were successfully being implemented ahead of target as the firm managed to cling onto net inflows in its 2023 results.
Assets under management and administration edged back over £100bn during the year, finishing at £103.4bn, compared to £96.2bn at the end of 2022.
Speaking to City A.M, Quilter CEO Steven Levin described the results as “really strong” and said that the firm had “hit our targets early.”
While the firm had planned to cut £45m in costs by the end of 2024, last year it had brought that target forward by a year.
When it brought that forward, it also set out an additional £50m in cost-savings plans to be delivered by the end of 2025, and Levin noted that the firm had already cut £8m of that.
However, the CEO admitted the group was “still not at the level of net flows that we want”, and added that the “improvement in sentiment and flows” had carried on into 2024, signally good signs for the firm.
Quilter had previously revealed that it had bucked the trend of sustained outflows experienced by other asset managers in recent months, gaining £56m of new cash in the last quarter of 2023.
Throughout the year, the firm gained £100m in new money, but this was still below the £1.8bn brought in during 2022.
While the firm’s profit before tax shrank from £199m to just £12m, Levin credited this to business transformation expenses and the impact of policyholder tax positions, which he noted was negative during 2023 but significantly positive in 2022 due to market rises and falls.
When this was removed, adjusted profits reached £167m, compared to £134m in 2022 and 15.2 per cent ahead of analyst consensus.
Quilter is split into three businesses, the firm’s own advisers, independent finance advisers that use their platform, and their high net worth arm.
Levin pointed particularly to the firm’s “core business”, or their own advisers, saying they had performed strongest due to a push for improved productivity.
He also cited the replacement of the firm’s “ageing” platform, which recently helped Quilter overtake of Abrdn last year to become the largest advised platform in terms of both assets and fees.
The firm’s stock price is up three per cent this morning on the news.