AMP pivots on AMP Capital amid a poor first half
AMP Limited has posted a significantly poor first-half result entailing a 109% total net loss on the back of a 234% decrease in total revenue from ordinary activities.
The company announced a $344 fully franked special dividend for shareholders of 10 cents per share and up to $200 million in the form of an on-market share buyback over the next 12 months
AMP also announced that it had taken greater ownership of AMP Capital with the purchase of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporations (MUTB’s) stake in the business as part of a what AMP chief executive, Francesco De Ferrari said was a move to “pivot increasingly towards private markets and improve our competitiveness in public markets”.
He said the purchase of MUTB’s 15% stake in AMP Capital provided strategic flexibility for AMP to position the business for its next phase of growth under new leadership.
“We have an opportunity to build the best global private markets platforms in the world, underpinned by our strength in real assets,” he said.
The company said that its preferred business measure, underlying profit, had been $149 million, down from $256 million compared to the same time last year – a 42% decline.
It said the decrease reflected the impact of weaker Australian wealth management earnings which were down 43%, AMP Capital earnings which were down 40% and AMP Bank earnings which were down 30%.
It said the Australian Wealth Management result was due to lower investment-related revenue arising from weaker markets, the Government’s Protecting Your Super legislative changes.
Australian wealth management net cash outflows were $4.4 billion in the half, including $1.2 billion of pension payments but this compared to $3.1 billion in the prior period.
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