Interim Management Statement
Hargreaves Lansdown Plc
Hargreaves Lansdown Plc ('the Group') publishes today its Interim Management Statement as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency rules. This statement covers the period from 1 January 2012 to 17 April 2012, and includes trading results for the three and nine months ended 31 March 2012.
Highlights
· Record level of Assets under Administration ("AUA"), increasing by £2.6 billion in the three months to 31 March 2012 to £26.0 billion.
· Net inflows of £1.0 billion in the three months to 31 March 2012.
· Cumulative net inflows of £2.2 billion in the nine months to 31 March 2012.
· Year-to-date revenue up by 16%
Commenting on the Interim Management Statement, Ian Gorham, Chief Executive, said:
The quarter under review remained a difficult period for the retail investment market. Investor confidence rose slightly but remains comparatively low. There remained a significant lack of innovative product or fund launches which are invariably a fillip to business.
Despite these conditions the company has fared exceedingly well. During the period leading up to the end of the calendar year we indicated the potential for a slowdown of asset gathering given economic conditions. However, our historically busy time leading up to the end of the tax year has been excellent, with net new business in February and March 2012 matching last year's record equivalent months. As a result we are particularly pleased to report a record total of assets under administration and management of £26 billion at 31 March 2012. We have also experienced an encouraging start to April.
Markets have yo-yoed in line with the ever changing outlook for Europe. The indebted southern European economies remain a concern and we expect Europe to remain a prime driver of the state of investor confidence. Market volatility, combined with a better than expected return from our improvements to equity trading functionality and pricing, have driven strong equity trading volumes, up 12% year to date. However, any short term growth in investor confidence or improvement in stock market outlook would be a surprise.
There has been much comment about increasing competition but we have not seen any material impact from this. Indeed we have enjoyed substantial inward transfers of both ISA and pension money into our SIPP for the period, assisting us to achieve our excellent level of net business inflows. Part withdrawals of money from funds and specifically ISAs remain higher than last year (driven by client personal expenditure requirements in tough times) but we have not experienced the outflows that have been reported by other businesses in the sector. Assets under administration have grown 11% during the period in comparison to the FTSE All Share Index which has risen by 5.1%. We keep a close eye on competitive activity but remain confident that we are competing profitably on all fronts with our dominant business model focusing on "best prices, best service and best information."
