St. James's Place annual results announcement 2017

Watch the video below and hear from our Chief Executive, Andrew Croft, as he talks about our annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested.

Financial highlights

• EEV new business profit £779.8 million (2016: £520.2 million)
• EEV operating profit £918.5 million (2016: £673.6 million)
• IFRS profit before shareholder tax £186.1 million (2016: £140.6 million)
• Operating cash result (post tax) £315.2 million (2016: £226.0 million)
• Underlying cash result (post tax) £281.2 million (2016: £199.5 million)
• Underlying cash earnings per share of 53.6 pence (2016: 38.2 pence per share)

Dividend:

• Final dividend of 27.45 pence per share (2016: 20.67 pence per share) up 33% providing a full year dividend of 42.86 pence per share (2016: 33.00 pence per share), growth of 30%

Other highlights:

• Record gross inflows of £14.6 billion (2016: £11.4 billion)
• Net inflow of funds under management of £9.5 billion (2016: £6.8 billion)
• Funds under management of £90.7 billion (2016: £75.3 billion)
• We are now represented by 3,661 qualified advisers across our Partnership businesses

Andrew Croft, Chief Executive, commented:

As we announced in January, during 2017 we achieved record gross inflows which at £14.6 billion were up 29% whilst net inflows were up 40% to £9.5 billion, reflecting the continued strong retention of existing client investments. These net flows, together with strong investment returns, increased the funds we manage on behalf of our clients by 20% over the year to close at an all time high of £90.7 billion.

I am very pleased to confirm that this record new business performance is reflected in the strong financial performance, across all measures, that we are reporting today. Given the strong performance of the business, the Board has proposed a final dividend of 27.45 pence per share, up 33%, which brings the full year dividend to 42.86 pence per share, up 30%.

I believe there are great opportunities ahead for St. James’s Place. Our core target market is already large and forecast to grow further still, driven by favourable demographic trends and the accumulation of investable assets as savers take on the responsibility for providing for their own well-being in retirement. Meanwhile, the environment for UK savers seeking to plan their long-term financial affairs has rarely felt more difficult whether due to complexities around personal taxation, pensions freedoms, or the implications of a sustained low interest rate environment.

As a result, demand for trusted, personal face-to-face advice has never been greater. With our focus on developing long-term relationships that span client generations, our advisers can provide a level of tailored and expert advice that clients truly value. Allied with our distinct Investment Management Approach that offers clients access to best-in-class fund managers from around the world, we have a clear and compelling client proposition that I believe stands St. James’s Place in great stead to capture the market opportunities ahead.

Our continuing focus on achieving the best possible outcomes for our clients, through the provision of sound personal financial advice, together with our distinctive approach to the management of their wealth, gives us confidence that we will continue to grow our business, in line with our stated medium-term objective of 15 -20%, in 2018 and beyond.

Enquiries:

View the full press release