Miton shares leap 10 per cent as asset manager reports 70 per cent profit jump and management shake-up
Fund manager Miton’s share price leapt 10 per cent today as the company announced a 70 per cent jump in profits and a senior management shake-up.
The figures
Miton’s assets under management (AUM) at 31 December were £2.91bn, up from £2.78bn a year before.
Adjusted pre-tax profits for the year were up 70 per cent to £5.1m. The asset manager proposed a dividend of 1p, up 49 per cent.
Miton’s share price leapt 10 per cent to 41p on Thursday after reporting the results and announcing changes in senior management.
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Why it’s interesting
Executive chairman Ian Dighé today said that he would be stepping down to become non-executive chairman. In another move, David Barron has assumed the position of interim chief executive.
Barron told City PM he was pleased with a “strong set of results” and believes there is a “growing momentum in the group”.
There have been two large tie-ups announced in recent months at the top end of the asset management industry, between Henderson and Janus and Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life.
Asked if he expects consolidation at his end of the market, Barron said: “From our perspective, we can thrive as an independent firm. We’ve got financial strength, we’ve got a good market position, we don’t need to take a lot of market share off other people to grow.
“I think there may be others who want to look at that, but… if you have distinctiveness and you run your firm sensibly with good cost control, I think there’s still a good future for independent small firms.”
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What the company said
Dighé added:
The business has demonstrated its resilience with momentum regained since the half year. Gross sales during 2016 were in excess of £1.1bn which is a testament to the quality of our fund management team and a differentiated and attractive product offering.
Over the past year, Miton has continued to build its distinctive identity as a genuinely active fund manager. The acceleration of our growth over recent quarters underlines our confidence in our prospects. Miton has an outstanding team, and along with a maturing range of funds, having reached £3,097m AuM at the end of February, we look forward to 2017 and beyond.