The shares of Hargreaves Lansdown (LSE: HL) slipped 77p to 1,420p during early trade this morning after the firm today announced its interim results.
The FTSE 100 member, which was recently voted Britain’s Most Admired Company within the specialty finance category, reported record revenue of £153m, up 13%, and record profits before tax of £104m, up 11%.
The half-year statement also revealed that total assets under administration had climbed 43% to £43bn and net new client money had risen by £1.25bn, or 70%, to £2.8bn.
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The blue chip boasted active client numbers had increased by 77,000 to 584,000, adding that approximately 18%, or 118,000, of Royal Mail shareholders invested in the postal service through the group’s services.
The interim dividend climbed 11%, with shareholders in line to receive 7p per share.
Chief executive Ian Gorham said:
“When we presented our interim trading results twelve months ago I reported that for the first time our assets under administration had passed £30 billion. We are pleased to report that figure has grown by 43% to £43.4 billion.
“During the six month period most parts of the business have reported record figures. Client recruitment has surpassed all expectations justifying our commitment to our investment supermarket and digital media strategic initiatives. We now count 584,000 investors as active clients, an increase of 77,000 (15%) in just 6 months.”
The chief executive added that 80% of the company’s clients would be “better off or no worse” following the RDR pricing changes announced last month, and that the “overall initial client reaction to our changes appears to be positive.”
