Hargreaves Lansdown posts robust growth in clients, profit

(Sharecast News) - Financial services provider Hargreaves Lansdown reported a robust set of full-year results on Tuesday. Net new business reached £4.8bn, marking a 13% decrease from the prior year, but still contributing heavily to its overall growth.

The FTSE 100 company said assets under administration rose 8% year-on-year for the 12 months ended 30 June, to a total of £134bn.

It said that growth was mainly due to the addition of new business and favourable market shifts.

Hargreaves Lansdown recorded 67,000 new active clients on the client front, bringing its total active client count to 1,804,000.

Financially, the firm said its profit before tax surged by 50% to £402.7m, while underlying profit before tax - a measure that excludes non-recurring and other exceptional items - also saw a robust increase of 47%, reaching £438.8m.

The board increased its ordinary dividend by 4.5% to 41.5p per share.

Furthermore, the company reported a 26% rise in revenue to £735.1m, while diluted earnings per share and underlying diluted earnings per share escalated by 49% and 47%, settling at 68.2p and 74.3p respectively.

"We have delivered a robust financial performance for our full year in what continues to be a challenging broader economic environment," said chief executive officer Dan Olley.

"We welcomed a further 67,000 net new clients meaning we now support over 1.8 million with their savings and investments needs, with client retention stable at over 92%.

"We saw notable growth into our Active Savings proposition which continues to show the benefits of our diversified business model as we give our clients access to competitive rates for their cash."

Olley added that the company delivered revenue growth of 26% year-on-year, with cost growth within the guided range, delivering a statutory profit of £402.7m, up 50% on 2022.

"As I begin my CEO tenure, it is clear to me that at its core, this is a strong business with fantastic heritage that has significant potential to benefit from the structural, demographic, and regulatory shifts in the UK and the expected growth in the wealth market.

"My early focus is to ensure we are set up to capture this growth opportunity, that we have pace of execution, cost discipline as we travel on this journey, and that we are giving our people the best opportunity to deliver for our clients and shareholders."

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.