Hargreaves Lansdown profits soar

Investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown has reported a rise in full-year net profit as it benefited from winning new clients and higher assets under management.

The firm has reported that profits have swelled on the back of soaring client numbers, with net profit for the year ended June 30 rising to £211.7 million from £176.9 million the previous year, despite revenue down to £385.7 million from £388.3 million.

Net revenue, a figure that excludes commission payments, rose to £385.6 million from £326.5 million as active client numbers rose by 118,000 to 954,000.

Hargreaves lifted its final dividend to 20.4 pence from a 16.3 pence second interim dividend last year, but the total dividend for the year is down 15 per cent at 29 pence because the company didn’t pay a special dividend this year.

It scrapped the special dividend due to plans by the UK financial regulator to increase capital requirements, although it stressed that it is committed to paying special dividends in future it also warned of a challenging environment for savings and investment.

Chief executive Chris Hill, said: “There are considerable challenges for people in the current saving and investment environment but there are also opportunities, and Hargreaves Lansdown is ideally placed to help people make their investment decisions with confidence.”