Investment management group Pinnacle has reported an increase in profits and funds and unlike the likes of Seek and IAG, will be paying its shareholders a final dividend for the year to June.
Pinnacle manages capital for retail and institutional clients across a range of boutique fund managers including Hyperion and Plato.
It reported net profit after tax was up 5.6% to $32.2 million for the financial year and fully franked final dividend of 8.5 cents would be paid to shareholders.
That will take the total payout for the year to an unchanged 15.4 cents, which is a sign of the uncertainty in the outlook for investment markets at the moment with the return of lockdowns in Victoria.
That news and the overall result saw the shares leap more than 9% yesterday to end at $5.59.
It also reported funds under management of its affiliate funds swelled to $58.7 billion up 8.1% from the corresponding period last year, partly helped by the acquisition of a 25% stake in Coolabah Capital Investments in December.
Without that boost, funds under management for the year would have been up a more modest $1.4 billion or 2.6%.
Pinnacle it saw net inflows for the year to June of $3.0 billion (Tat slowed sharply to a $1.0 billion gain in June 2020 half year). It consisted of including $900 million retail ($19 million in 2H2020), of which $200 million was Listed Investment Companies/Listed Investment trusts (there was a $49 million net outflows in LICs/LITs in 2H2020, due to buybacks)
Chairman Alan Watson said the results were a solid financial outcome, “given prevailing circumstances”.”It is encouraging to note the early evidence of the benefits of the increasing diversity of the business across asset classes, sources of client funds, and exposure to performance fee potential,” he said.
Pinnacle’s managing director Ian Macoun said the 2020 financial year was “extraordinary in many ways”.
“The extensive impact of the COVID-19 virus crisis during the second half of the year is of course widely apparent in all global economies and markets,” Mr. Macoun said.
“Against the extreme turbulence in markets and the broader economy, it is pleasing that we saw net inflows in both the first and second halves of the financial year, which is a testament to the quality of our affiliates, our market-leading distribution capability and our client-centric approach.”
And looking to 2020-21 Mr. Watson said “Finally we have entered the 2021 financial year in good shape. We are poised to resume growth, to react to possible further external adversity, and to take advantage of opportunities that may materialise.”
