Driven by a 37% increase in average AUM (from £16.7bn to £22.8bn), gross investment management fees* grew 33% from £157m to £210m. However, a drop in performance-related revenue from £44m in FY21 (a bumper year) to £14m slowed total revenue growth to 11% (£224m v £202m in FY21). Core operating profit (excl. perf. fees, other income, exceptional items and tax) jumped 35% from £52m to £69m while PBT fell from £76m to £62m, with the fall mainly as a result of the reduction in performance-related profits (FY21 £19m; FY22 £4m).
Polar’s balance sheet remained robust, with net assets of £156m, cash and equivalents of £121m, and no debt. Full-year dividends totalled 46p, 15% up y-o-y, producing a yield of 8.8%.
Recent market and AUM trends have led us to reduce our FY23 AUM forecast to £19.0bn. This results in a drop in average AUM, revenue and profit from FY22 to FY23. However, given its strategic positioning and growth opportunities, we think Polar can re-ignite its growth trajectory and reach £25-26bn of AUM over the next four years or so. Our fundamental valuation is 800p per share, over 50% above the current share price, but down from 1,000p.
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Return to Polar Capital
