LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Asset management company Schroders plc (SDRC.L, SDR.L) reported Thursday that its profit before tax for the year ended 31 December 2019 declined 4 percent to 624.6 million pounds from 649.9 million pounds last year.
Profit before tax and exceptional items decreased 8 percent to 701.2 million pounds from 761.2 million pounds in the prior year. The company noted that the amortisation of intangible assets, along with the cost of structural changes, contributed towards exceptional costs of 76.6 million pounds, compared to 111.3 million pounds in 2018.
Net income for the year was 2.125 billion pounds, compared to 2.124 billion pounds a year ago. Basic earnings per share were 178.9 pence, down 2 percent from 183.1 pence last year.
Net operating revenue declined 1 percent to 2.05 billion pounds from 2.07 billion pounds a year ago, reflecting changes to the business mix.
The Board will recommend to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting a final dividend of 79.0 pence, which is unchanged from 2018. This will bring the total dividend for the year to 114.0 pence, the same as last year. The final dividend will be paid on 7 May 2020 to shareholders on the register at 27 March 2020.
Looking ahead, Schroders said that in the near term, Covid-19 is creating considerable uncertainty for economies and markets. The company believes its business resilience is sufficient to deal with this, but the impact on economies and markets will be highly correlated with how effective containment measures are.
Separately, Schroders said that Matthew Westerman will join the Board as a non-executive Director, effective 9 March 2020, and will stand for election at the Annual General Meeting or AGM on 30 April 2020. Matthew will be a member of the Audit and Risk Committee and the Nominations Committee.
Philip Mallinckrodt will retire as a Director at the conclusion of the AGM on 30 April 2020. He initially joined Schroders in 1994 and served in a number of senior executive positions.
Claire Fitzalan Howard will join the Board as a non-executive Director on 30 April 2020, subject to her election at the AGM. Claire will be a member of the Nominations Committee.
Schroders noted that following these appointments, the company will have a majority of independent non-executive directors on the board, in line with its policy.
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