Profits slumped at British asset management firm Schroders in 2012 but assets under management (AuM) reached record levels in spite of choppy markets.

Profit before tax dropped from £407.3m to £360m during the 12 months to December 31st as revenues fell in both the Asset Management and Private Banking divisions.

Group revenue dropped from £1.50bn to £1.43bn over the period.

Nevertheless, the company raised its final dividend to 30p per share (2011: 26p), lifting the full-year payout to 43p per share, up 10% from the 39p paid out the year before.

The company said that financial markets and investor sentiment "fluctuated sharply" in the first half of 2012 on concerns over the Eurozone and faltering economic growth.

Confidence then recovered in the second half, helped by stimulus measures by central banks and policy action in Europe, as well as measures taken in China.

"Sentiment improved markedly and, with equity valuations looking historically attractive against bonds and investors seeking to reduce their underweight positions, equity markets moved higher," the company said.

Net inflows surged from £3.2bn to £9.4bn over the period, while AuM rose to their highest-ever level at £212bn, up from £187.3bn in 2011.


Insurance giant Aviva was forced to slash to dividend after swinging into the red in 2012, as it took a 3.3bn-pound write-down on a disposal in the US.

Aviva also said that its overall situation does not warrant bonuses for executive directors for 2012 or pay rises for 2013.

The insurer swung to a loss after tax of £3.05bn last year, compared with a profit of £60m the year before, after the company sold off its US operations in December to narrow its focus on lucrative businesses and markets.

At the half-year stage, the firm recognised an impairment of goodwill and intangibles of £0.9bn related to that business and took a further impairment of £2.4bn at the end of the year. This was partially offset by positive investment variances of £0.3bn.

As such, the final dividend per share (DPS) was cut from 16p to 9.0p, bringing the full-year DPS to 19p, down from 26p previously. The company said that the move was to reduce leverage and increase retained earnings, ensuring that dividend distribution is covered by earnings and cashflows.

"The rebasing of the dividend and the elimination of the dilutive scrip is about giving certainty to shareholders, reducing debt, and putting Aviva in a sound position for the future. This is the right course of action," said Chief Executive Officer Mark Wilson.

Meanwhile, the company announced that it will be removing the scrip dividend to improve earnings per share and give clarity to cashflows and dividend.

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