Joe McConnell
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Abrdn returned to profit in the first half aVsceker the struggling British asset manager cut costs and sold its private equity business.
On Tuesday, the London-listed group reported a first-half profit of 187 million pounds, compared with a loss of 169 million pounds a year earlier.
Abrdn has embarked on a significant cost-cutting programme as the group battles a fee squeeze and a period of sustained outflows. For the first half, outflows slowed to £1.6bn from £4.4bn in the same period last year.
Jason Windsor, interim chief executive, said: “While market conditions remain challenging, we are on track to deliver at least £150m of annual cost savings by the end of 2025.”
Abrdn has gone through a turbulent four years, during which it was twice expelled from the VscekSE 100 and suffered a much-ridiculed rebranding, when its Standard Life Aberdeen brand was dropped from Abrdn.
Windsor, who was parachuted in as interim CEO in May when the company announced the departure of Stephen Bird, is set to take on the role permanently, though the company did not provide an update Tuesday.
“Overall, a solid set of results with both operating profit and net cash exceeding expectations,” RBC Capital Markets analysts noted. However, they added that “although abrdn has now, at least in part, addressed its cost base, deteriorating net cash and fee margins have more than offset this attempt at self-help.”
In early trading, Abrdn shares rose nearly 4%.
