Ashmore Group FY23 Profit, AuM Decline; Maintains Dividend

Ashmore Group Plc (ASHM.L), an asset manager focused on emerging markets, reported Wednesday that its fiscal 2023 profit before tax fell 6 percent to 111.8 million pounds from last year’s 118.4 million pounds.

The results reflected lower, unrealised mark-to-market seed capital losses and higher interest on cash balances.

Earnings per share of 12.2 pence was 4 percent lower than the prior year’s 12.6 pence,

Adjusted EBITDA declined 35 percent to 106.2 million pounds from 164.3 million pounds a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 54 percent for the year, down from 64 percent a year ago.

Net revenue declined to 196.4 million pounds from 262.5 million pounds a year ago. Adjusted net revenue was 195.4 million pounds, 24 percent lower than last year.

The opening Assets under management or AuM was 23 percent below prior year average AuM level. AuM declined 13 percent over the year to $55.9 billion.

Further, the Board has recommended an unchanged final ordinary dividend at 12.1 pence per share, to give total dividends per share of 16.9 pence.

Looking ahead, Mark Coombs, Chief Executive Officer, said, “Ashmore remains highly profitable, is delivering outperformance for clients and has a scalable operating platform, which means it is well-positioned to benefit from the ongoing recovery in Emerging Markets.”

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Barratt Developments Full-year Profit Climbs

Barratt Developments plc (BDEV.L), a residential construction company, on Wednesday reported higher profit before tax for the full year, particularly reflecting lesser costs associated with legacy properties.

Profit before tax for the full year increased 9.8 percent to 705.1 million pounds from 642.3 million pounds of last year. This was helped by lower adjusted items of cost associated with legacy properties of 179.2 million pounds than 412.5 million pounds a year ago.

After tax, earnings climbed to 530.3 million pounds or 53.2 pence per share from 515.1 million pounds or 50.6 pence per share of the previous year.

Adjusted profit before tax decreased 16.2 percent to 884.3 million pounds from 1.054 billion pounds a year ago.

After tax, adjusted earnings fell to 670.2 million pounds or 66.5 pence per share from 845.1 million pounds or 81.7 pence per share of the previous year.

Revenue edged up 1 percent to5.321 billion pounds from 5.267 billion pounds of the prior year, reflecting weaker completions in the second half after significant decline in reservation activity from September 2022.

Additionally, the company declared a final dividend of 23.5 pence per share higher than 25.7 pence per share last year, payable on November 3 to shareholders of record on September 29.

On Tuesday, shares of Barratt closed at 443.30 pence, down 1.12% on the London Stock Exchange.

Equinor Acquires 26 MW Onshore Polish Wind Farm From Helios Group

Equinor ASA (EQNR), a Norwegian petroleum refining firm, said on Wednesday that it has acquired a 26 MW onshore wind farm in Poland from Helios Group. The financial terms of the transaction is not revealed.

Located in the Wielkopolska province, Wilko wind farm will be operated by Wento, a Polish unit of Equinor.

Olav Kolbeinstveit, Senior Vice President for Onshore and Markets at Equinor, said: “…Through our subsidiary Wento, we have built a strong solar portfolio in Poland. By adding onshore wind to Wento’s portfolio of operated assets, we transform Wento into a multi-tech power producer.”

The accumulated power generation from the asset is estimated at 105 GWh a year, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of around 50,000 Polish households.

The produced power will be managed in the Polish market by Equinor’s energy trading house Danske Commodities.

TreeHouse To Sell Lakeville Manufacturing Facility And Snack Bars Business To John B. Sanfilippo

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (THS) announced Wednesday that it entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Lakeville, Minnesota-based manufacturing facility and snack bars business to John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. (JBSS) for approximately $63 million in cash.

The facility has been part of the TreeHouse Foods network since its acquisition of the Private Brands business in 2016. The facility produces a range of private label snack bar products including fruit and grain, chewy, crunchy and protein bars.

The snack bars business was not expected to contribute positive adjusted EBITDA in fiscal year 2023. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close within 30 days.

Following close, the existing private label snack bars business, customer relationships, and Lakeville-based employees will transition to John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. Both companies are committed to a smooth transition for employees, customers and consumers.

Swiss Life Group H1 Profit Rises On Comparable Basis

Swiss Life Group (SZLMY.PK,SLHN.VX) reported first half net profit of 630 million Swiss francs. In the prior-year, net profit was 560 million francs, on a comparable basis. Under IFRS 17 and the now discontinued IAS 39 standard, prior-year net profit would have been 710 million francs.

The Swiss Life Group recorded profit from operations of 836 million Swiss francs in the first half of 2023. In the prior-year period, profit from operations was 801 million francs on a comparable basis. Under IFRS 17 and the now discontinued IAS 39 standard, prior-year profit from operations would have been 999 million francs.

First half premiums were 11.5 billion Swiss francs, an increase of 8% in local currency.

The cash remittance to the holding company increased by 9% in the first half to 1.06 billion Swiss francs, and the annualised return on equity at 15.8% was above the previous year. Swiss Life noted that it is very well on track to exceed the Group’s financial targets for these two figures by 2024 and to achieve all the other of the Group’s financial targets set out in the Swiss Life 2024 programme.

Swiss Life said it is launching a new share buyback programme. Between 2 October 2023 and the end of March 2024, the Group will repurchase own shares in the amount of 300 million Swiss francs in order to reduce the number of outstanding shares.

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