St James's Place blames levy increase for first half profit drop

29th Jul 2015 08:12

(ShareCast News) - St James's Place posted underlying profit before shareholder tax at £72.9m for the six months to June 2015, about 7% lower than the same period last year.The wealth management business said profits were hit by an increase in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy, which had almost trebled from £6.9m to £20m.St James's Place lifted its interim dividend by 20% to 10.72p per share despite this.Total funds under management at June 2015 were up 6.7% since the start of the year, to £55.5bn, the company said.During the period St James's place agreed to buy Rowan Dartington Holdings, which had more than £1bn in funds under management.