LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - AJ Bell announced a share buyback of up to £50m on Thursday as it hailed a record full-year performance, with "excellent" growth in customer numbers.
In the year to the end of September, revenue rose 18% to £317.8m, with pre-tax profit 22% higher at £137.8m.

Customer numbers grew 19% during the year to 644,000 and assets under management pushed up 19% to a record £103.3bn. This was driven by net inflows of £7.5bn, up from £6.1bn a year earlier, and favourable market movements of £9.3bn.

The investment platform declared a final dividend of 9.75p per share, lifting the total ordinary dividend for the year 14% to 14.25p.

Chief executive Michael Summersgill said: "These results reflect the strength of our market-leading customer service, trusted brand and low-cost, easy-to-use propositions.

"Our scalable business model continues to deliver operational gearing, enabling us to reinvest the benefits of scale to drive long-term growth. Over the past year, we increased investment in our brand, marketing and propositions, supporting record levels of new business.

"Our highly-cash generative business model and strong capital position allow us to invest whilst also delivering excellent value for customers and increasing shareholder returns. We are pleased to recommend an increase to our ordinary dividend for the 21st successive year, alongside a new share buyback programme, returning up to £50 million to shareholders throughout FY26."

Summersgill said that broader long-term structural market growth drivers remain strong, "as more individuals recognise the importance of taking control of their financial future".

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