Financial services group Mattioli Woods is preparing for growth after praising its ‘resilient operating model’ during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to its Annual General Meeting statement, published this morning (October 19), Mattioli Woods is looking to further grow the business “both organically and through further strategic acquisitions”.
This comes after it acquired private client adviser and asset manager Hurley Partners in a deal worth up to £25.6m earlier this year (March 2020).
Joanne Lake, group chairman of Mattioli Woods, will say at the meeting later today: “We expect that uncertainty around Brexit and the impact of Covid-19 will continue to influence investor and consumer sentiment in the short-term, but we are confident that our ability to address the changing needs of our clients will position us well to secure future growth, both organically and through further strategic acquisitions, in order to deliver sustainable shareholder returns.”
As announced earlier this year (July 2020) the firm's chief financial officer, Nathan Imlach, will be stepping down this month, after 15 years, to take the role of chief strategic adviser where his focus will be on acquisitions.
He will be succeeded by Ravi Tara, currently group finance director, who joined the company a year ago as part of its succession planning.
In the statement, Ms Lake will also confirm that current trading is in line with expectations and that the firm will remain focussed on client service and financial planning to build on its “established reputation for delivering sound advice and consistent investment performance”.
In its results for the year ended May 31 2020, published last month (September 2), Mattioli Woods saw its pre-tax profits jump by 36 per cent to reach £13.4m.
It also reported revenues had risen by 1.6 per cent to £58.4m while operating profits were up by a third.
This was after the company took swift action to cut costs during the pandemic.
Mattioli will propose a final dividend of 12.7p per share at today's meeting, which makes a proposed total dividend for the year of 20p per share, in line with the prior year.
Ms Lake said: “Our financial result and adjusted EBITDA margin for the year were significantly ahead of budget, primarily as a result of the one-off reduction in bonuses and other cost savings made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We continue to operate in an agile manner, adapting our approach with new clients.
“The number of new clients on-boarded in the first four months of this new financial year is in line with the prior year, which is pleasing given the very different circumstances we are experiencing.”
FTAdviser reported in July that Mattioli Woods had saved £150,000 after all directors reduced their basic salary in April, with a further £2.7m in cost savings after the firm decided to not pay any staff bonuses for the current financial year.
amy.austin@ft.com
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