Quilter shareholders set for bumper payday as bosses announce £328m capital return
The boss of Wealth management giant Quilter hailed 2021 an “important” year for the the firm as it reported a boost in profits and unveiled a £328m capital return to shareholders following a buyback programme.
Profits before tax jumped by 28 per cent to £138m, up from £108m last year, as the firm boosted its profit margins to 22 per cent with a 10 per cent growth in revenues.
Assets under management for the group boomed last year to £111.8bn, an increase of 13 per cent from 31 December 2020, which bosses said had been lifted by improved net flows and positive movement in the market.
Boss Paul Feeney said it had been an “important” year for the firm as it offloaded its international business for ££481m and migrated its customers onto a new investment platform.
“We also demonstrated strong financial performance with more than doubled net inflows of £4 billion and achieved revenue growth of 10 per cent while limiting cost growth to 5 per cent to deliver adjusted profit growth of 28 per cent,” he said.
Shareholders are in line for a bumper payday as bosses unveiled a major £328m capital return following the completion of a share buyback scheme earlier, equivalent to 20p per share, as well as hiking dividend payouts by 22 per cent to 5.6 pence per share.
Feeney said the firm was delivering good results “in these difficult times with significant geopolitical tensions at the centre of all our concerns”.
The firm’s focus was now on increasing flows to the platform, alongside product innovation and growth in its restricted adviser base, he said.