Record discretionary fund inflows in Q2 and strong market performance, contributed to H1 income growth of 13.7%.

Robin Beer, Chief Executive Officer, said:

'In the first half of 2021 we delivered an excellent set of results driven by record fund inflows in Q2 and the outperformance of our clients' investments during a strong market recovery. Our broad range of propositions and distribution channels has enabled us to reach a wider demographic of people and support those clients who have been able to accumulate higher levels of savings over the last year. The consistency of our inflow performance throughout the pandemic demonstrates we have a resilient business model, a trusted brand and our advice-focused strategy is the right one. The implementation of our custody and settlement system in the Autumn remains on track, which will enable greater efficiencies and support our growth ambitions. Our strong financial momentum and the good progress made on our strategic priorities in the first half of the year gives me confidence for the remainder of the year.'

Highlights

Financial

  • Total funds increased by 10.5% to £52.6bn (FY 2020: £47.6bn). Total discretionary funds were up 10.9% to £45.7bn (FY 2020: £41.2bn) supported by positive net flows and strong discretionary investment performance of 9.5% (MSCI PIMFA Private Investor Balanced Index: 8.7%)
  • Total discretionary net flows of £0.6bn (annualised growth rate of 2.9%), with gross inflows of £1.6bn (H1 2020: £1.5bn) demonstrating the value of our trusted advice, high client satisfaction and broad range of propositions.
    • Record total discretionary fund inflows in Q2 of £1bn, with Q2 net flows of £0.5bn, annualised growth rate of 4.5%.
    • MPS H1 net flows of £0.4bn (annualised growth rate 18.2%), including c.£140m from our recently launched Voyager funds.
    • Retention rates of our Direct clients increased to 98% in H1 2021 (FY 2020: 97%).
  • Total income increased by 13.7% to £199.9m (H1 2020: £175.8m), driven by strong market performance and elevated levels of commissions.
    • Discretionary commission income was 14.8% higher at £38.7m (H1 2020: £33.7m).
    • Financial planning income grew 16.5% to £19.1m (H1 2020: £16.4m); driven by higher market levels and continued demand for our advice-focused services.
  • Adjusted PBT1 margin of 23.5% (H1 2020: 20.8%), driven by strong income growth and cost savings of £4.1m associated with COVID-19 restrictions.
  • Strong cash balance of £145.8m (H1 2020: £144.1m) and capital adequacy ratio of 210%.
  • Interim dividend per share up 5% to 4.6p (H1 2020: 4.4p).

Unaudited
six months to
31 March
2021
£'m

Unaudited
six months to
31 March
2020
£'m

Change

Income

199.9

175.8

13.7%

Profit before tax and adjusted1,3 items

47.0

36.5

28.8%

Statutory profit before tax

40.7

28.2

44.3%

Earnings per share:
Basic
Diluted


11.1p
10.9p


7.3p
7.1p


52.1%
53.5%

Adjusted² earnings per share:
Basic
Diluted


13.0p
12.5p


9.9p
9.5p


31.3%
31.6%

1. Adjusted items are amortisation of client relationships and brand - £5.6m (H1 2020: £5.4m), defined benefit pension scheme past service costs - £0.4m (H1 2020: £nil), acquisition costs - £nil (H1 2020: £2.3 m), other gains and losses £0.3m (H1 2020: £nil), incentivisation awards £0.6m (H1 2020: £0.6m) and onerous contracts - £(0.02)m (H1 2020: £(0.04)m).
2. See note 7.
3. See Annual Report and Accounts 2020 page 29 for explanation of adjusted profit before tax and why the adjusted measures have been chosen.

Delivering on our strategic priorities

  • The custody and settlement system ('Avaloq') on track to go live in the Autumn.
  • Continued innovation with the launch of new ESG solutions; '1762 Responsible Progress' through 1762 from Brewin Dolphin and 'Sustainable MPS' for the intermediaries market.
  • Launched new BPS client onboarding journey; doubled conversion rates to 40% and new clients in Q2 up 74% year on year.
  • Expanded our distribution channels; Voyager funds have increased our platform coverage from 15 to 23.

Outlook

  • Strong first half year performance, increased confidence in full year outlook.
  • Commission income expected to reduce in H2.
  • Operating costs expected to increase in H2 due to the holiday accrual reversal more than offset by reduced cost savings associated to COVID-19 restrictions and the FSCS levy which was £4.8m in FY 2020.
  • No change to our opex guidance of mid-single digit growth and full year capex guidance of around £30m.
  • Change in Avaloq FY21 capex guidance from c.£19m to c.£24m.

Declaration of Interim Dividend

The Board declares an interim dividend of 4.6p per share. The interim dividend is payable on 11 June 2021 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 21 May 2021 with an ex-dividend date of 20 May 2021.

For further information:

Brewin Dolphin Holdings PLC Camarco
Carla Bloom, Head of Investor Relations Ben Woodford / Geoffrey Pelham-Lane
Tel: +44 (0)20 7248 4400 Tel: +44 (0)799 065 3341/+44 (0)773 312 4226

The Interim Results presentation will be held at 9.00am on 13 May 2021 and available to watch via an audio webcast. The audio link can be found on the corporate website (www.brewin.co.uk/group/investor-relations). Investors and analysts are also able to dial in to the call using UK & International: +44 (0) 33 0551 0200 or UK toll-free: 0808 109 0700

LEI: 213800PS7FS5UYOWAC49

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About Brewin Dolphin:

Brewin Dolphin is one of the UK and Ireland's leading independent providers of discretionary wealth management. We continue to focus on discretionary investment management, and we manage £45.7 billion of funds on a discretionary basis. In line with the premium we place on personal relationships, we have built a network of offices across the UK, Channel Islands and the Republic of Ireland, staffed by qualified investment managers and financial planners. We are committed to the most exacting standards of client service, with long-term thinking and absolute focus on our clients' needs at the core.

Download the full Group Half Year Results press release in Adobe Acrobat PDF File Format. (Size: 336KB)

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Brewin Dolphin Holdings plc published this content on 13 May 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 31 May 2021 15:43:03 UTC.