LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Impax Asset Management reported lower profits and revenue for the six months ended 31 March on Thursday, amid a sharp fall in assets under management, but maintained a strong financial position and launched a £10m share buyback programme.
Assets under management dropped to £25.3bn, down from £39.6bn a year earlier and £37.2bn at the end of the 2024 financial year, reflecting adverse market conditions and investor outflows.

Revenue for the period fell to £76.5m, compared to £86.2m in the same period last year.

Adjusted operating profit declined to £20.5m from £25.8m, with the adjusted operating margin narrowing to 26.8% from 30%.

IFRS profit before tax fell to £18.6m and diluted earnings per share dropped to 9.7p, down from 14p a year earlier.

The AIM-traded firm reduced its interim dividend to 4p per share from 4.7p, while cash reserves stood at £60.3m.

Despite the weaker first half, Impax reported improving investment performance relative to benchmarks and said it had made progress on strategic priorities, including the post-period completion of the Sky Harbor acquisition.

The group also said cost control remains tight and reaffirmed confidence in its long-term outlook, underpinned by continued interest in sustainability-focused investment strategies.

"Impax's investment thesis is based on the insight that the transition to a more sustainable economy is both highly likely, as individuals and businesses prefer more efficient, less damaging goods and services, and also replete with investment opportunities, particularly due to the mispricing that often accompanies significant market developments in this area," said chief executive officer Ian Simm.

"Although many of the investment strategies that we manage lagged generic benchmarks during 2023 and 2024, there are strong signs that this period is behind us and that our investment focus can once again deliver attractive returns.

"Since the start of the calendar year, our relative investment performance has improved - as at 30 April, 71% of our assets under management had outperformed their generic benchmarks since 1 January."

Simm said the company had made further progress towards its strategic priorities, including enhancing its listed equities proposition and expanding its fixed income and private markets capabilities to help diversify its product offering.

"We also continue to focus on growing our direct channel distribution capabilities, deepening our partnerships with selected third parties and refining our agile and scalable operating model.

"We also maintained tight control of our costs, accelerating our efficiency programme without materially reducing our capabilities or growth prospects.

"The board's approach to capital management remains disciplined and firmly aligned to the company's strategic priorities."

Impax's dividend policy of paying out at least 55% of adjusted profit after tax would continue, Ian Simm said, but for the current financial year, it expected the payout would be close to that threshold to reflect the reduction in assets under management and profits for the year and to ensure it could continue to pay a sustainable dividend in future years.

The company was also rebalancing the split between the interim and final dividend, so that distributions to shareholders were less heavily weighted towards the final dividend, in line with common market practice.

"As part of the board's capital management approach, we will also consider returning to shareholders surplus capital through share buybacks, while also ensuring there is sufficient capital available to fund future growth opportunities when they arise.

"In line with this, we intend to return up to £10m of capital to shareholders before the end of the calendar year through a share buyback programme, which, combined with our commitment to funding the company's expansion and our dividend policy, demonstrates our confidence in the company's future success."

At 1314 BST, shares in Impax Asset Management Group were up 7.38% at 177.6p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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