UK-based global funds management business Henderson Group plc's (ASX: HGG) share price has slumped 8% on Friday morning after the group released full year results for the 12 months ending December 31.
Having previously been spun-out of AMP Limited (ASX: AMP), Henderson is a stock held by a broad range of Australian investors.
Here are the key numbers from the results release…
- Net fee income surged 16% to £602 million thanks to a 16% increase in management fees and a 19% increase in performance fees
- Total assets under management (AUM) grew 13% to £92 billion
- Underlying profit before tax increased 17% to £220 million
- Underlying earnings per share also expanded by 17% to £0.172 per share
Dividend
A final unfranked dividend of £0.072 has been declared with Henderson's shares set to trade ex-dividend on May 5 and shareholders can expect payment on May 27. For the year, total dividends paid or declared totalled £0.103.
Henderson has a strong capital position which has allowed the board to implement other shareholder friendly capital management initiatives on top of dividends. The company has flagged that a further share buyback is anticipated in the second half of 2016.
Impressive Track Record
With the group's AUM spread across European equities, global equities, global fixed income, multi-asset classes and alternatives, Henderson offers a wide range of investment options to clients. Importantly, 81% of Henderson's funds have outperformed over the past three years.
Long-term returns have also been pleasing with a range of Henderson's funds producing relative outperformance since inception.
Outlook
Turing to the outlook for 2016 and management noted that it has been a challenging start to the year with numerous areas of economic, geopolitical and market risks. Year to date Henderson has experienced some outflow of funds including £500 million from institutional clients.
After being a top performing stock in 2015 with the share price rising by around 54%, the shares have experienced a dramatic reversal since the start of 2016, with the stock slumping 28% inclusive of today's falls.
Given the leverage fund managers have to the rise and fall in equity markets it's unlikely that the long-term party is over for Henderson but the music may have been turned down for the time being.
