Hargreaves Lansdown Shares Spike After Annual Profit Beat

By Scott Kanowsky 

Investing.com -- Shares in Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LON:HRGV) surged towards the top of the FTSE 100 on Friday after the British investment platform posted better-than-expected full-year profit despite a downturn in assets under management.

Annual underlying pre-tax profit dipped by 19% to £269.2M, but still beat company-compiled expectations by 5%, according to a J.P. Morgan forecast cited by Reuters.

Hargreaves Lansdown blamed a "macroeconomic and geopolitical climate not seen in a generation" for leading to subdued inflows and lower wealth management activity. Investors have recently fled riskier assets as concerns mount that red-hot inflation and international conflicts may spark a broad-based economic downturn.

Assets under management totaled £123.8B, a slump of 9% compared to the same period last year. Trading volumes also declined, but Hargreaves Lansdown said this slide was expected after retail investors flush with pandemic savings fueled an explosion of activity in 2021.

The company flagged that recent market turbulence will continue over its next fiscal year and the medium term, adding it will impact key business drivers like asset levels and investor confidence.

Shares in Hargreaves Lansdown are down by more than 47% over the past one-year period.