AJ Bell boosted by profit growth

FTSE 250 investment platform operator AJ Bell (LON:AJB) saw its share price rise by 4.48% to 443.50p (as of 13:45 GMT) after reporting that revenues for the year ended 30th September grew by 21%. Profits before tax for the year improved by 29% with margins improving by 2.5 percentage points.

CEO Andy Bell commented: “This has been another year of strong growth, with high levels of new customers and record dealing activity driving a 29% increase in profit before tax to £48.6m. Our focus on providing an easy-to-use platform at a competitive price has resulted in growth in customer numbers and assets under administration of 27% and 8% respectively during a year when the FTSE All-Share Index fell by 19%.

“In light of this strong financial performance, the Board recommends a final ordinary dividend of 4.66p per share, taking the total ordinary dividend for the year to 6.16p per share. This is an increase of 28% on the previous year and extends our record of increasing our ordinary dividend every year since we paid our first dividend in 2004.

“The long-term growth drivers of the platform market remain strong, with customers increasingly looking for good value, online solutions and we are well positioned to benefit from those trends.“