The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price is falling hard today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) financial services company closed yesterday trading for $1.75. In morning trade on Friday, shares are changing hands for $1.52 apiece, down 13.3%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.8% at this same time.
This follows the release of AMP's full-year results for calendar year 2024.
Here are the highlights.
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AMP share price crashes on dividend cut
The AMP share price is taking a fall today, although the company did report a 15.1% year on year increase in underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) to $236 million.
Breaking that down to AMP's business segments:
- Platforms underlying NPAT was up 18.9% to $107 million
- Superannuation & Investments underlying NPAT was up 26.4% to $67 million
- AMP Bank underlying NPAT was down 22.6% to $72 million
- New Zealand Wealth Management underlying NPAT was up 8.8% to $37 million
It was a different picture for statutory NPAT, which tumbled 43.4% from 2023 to $150 million and is likely seeing ASX 200 investors favouring their sell buttons today.
Management noted this reflected AMP's business simplification spend and the loss it incurred on the sale of its Advice business. The AMP Advice transaction was successfully completed on 2 December. The stronger statutory NPAT result delivered in 2023 also reflected the gains the company booked on the sale of AMP Capital and SuperConcepts that year.
On the costs front, the company reduced controllable costs by 6.1% to $648 million, in line with its 2024 commitment.
Underlying earnings per share (EPS) were up 25% from 2023 to 9.0 cents per share.
As for passive income, the AMP share price could be getting hit after the board declared a final dividend of 1.0 cent per share, 20% franked. That's down from a final dividend of 2.0 cents per share declared the year before.
The full-year 2024 dividend payout is 3.0 cents per share, down from 4.5 cents per share in 2023.
What did management say?
Commenting on the full-year results battering the AMP share price today, CEO Alexis George said, "2024 was another year of strategic delivery for AMP as we build positive performance momentum and focus firmly on growth."
George added:
We sold and transitioned the Advice business, hit cost targets and completed our $1.1 billion capital return program. Our wealth businesses are competing strongly in their chosen markets, driving positive performance, and we're launching new offers including digital advice…
We saw improving trends in AMP Bank in the second half of the year, including a return to growth in the mortgage book as previously indicated. We continue to prioritise margins in a competitive environment, and this month's launch of our new digital bank is an important way to start to address the funding and revenue mix.
Looking ahead, George said:
Having successfully completed the Advice transaction in December 2024, AMP is positioned to drive growth and build on opportunities in our wealth businesses to become a pre-eminent retirement specialist, and as a leading digital bank.
With today's intraday fall factored in, the AMP share price remains up 42% since this time last year.
