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(Reuters) – Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:) posted higher annual underlying earnings on Monday, with the ‘GameStonk’ retail trading frenzy coupled with a shift online during the pandemic restrictions drawing record new clients to Britain’s biggest fund supermarket.
The 100-listed company said underlying pretax profit rose to 366 million pounds ($507.42 million) for the 12 months that ended in June from 339.5 million pounds a year earlier. Its assets under administration grew 30% to 135.5 billion pounds, with net new business inflows of 8.7 billion pounds.
Hargreaves has benefited from a surge in trading volumes as retail traders gathered on platforms such as Reddit to discuss strategies and bet against beaten-down stocks in a flurry of activity dubbed ‘GameStonk’.
The company said equity trading volumes surged 54% compared to the prior year, but said it does not expect it to remain at such high levels. Total active clients rose by a record 233,000 to 1,645,000, with 83% of its new clients under 55.
“If the biggest trend has been the change in demand for online service, the second biggest trend has been in the demographic mix,” Chief Executive Chris Hill said in a statement.
“We are seeing younger clients show an interest in – and willingness to learn about – investing, prioritising financial resilience and saving.”
Hargreaves raised its dividend per share by 3% to 38.5 pence, but total dividend fell 8% to 50.5 pence compared to last year, when it paid a special dividend.
($1 = 0.7213 pounds)
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