WH Ireland warns of loss after tough year for markets

3rd Apr 2023 08:26

(Sharecast News) - Investment firm WH Ireland warned on its results for the financial year just ended on Monday, after its performance was impacted by market conditions throughout the second half.

The AIM-traded company said revenue for the 12 months ended 31 March was expected to be about £26m, with a loss of over £2.2m before tax.

That would be below management's previous expectations.

WH Ireland put the loss down to a "lack of transactional activity" across capital markets throughout 2022, which had continued into 2023, affecting its capital markets division.

However, the company said it believed the division had the potential to capitalise on an upturn in the market, due to cost actions taken throughout the year.

The division ended the year with 88 retained corporate clients - the same as the previous year.

In contrast, the wealth management division remained "resilient", and achieved underlying profitability in the last six months.

Total assets under management within the division at year-end were £1.5bn, a slight decrease from the previous year's £1.6bn.

Meanwhile, the group's assets under management totalled £2.2bn, down from the previous year's £2.4bn.

"The company had cash at the period end of £4.0m, ahead of the receipt of quarterly recurring cash from the company's platform providers - anticipated to be at least £2.5m - due imminently," the board said in its statement.

At the end of the 2022 financial year, WH Ireland reported cash of £6.4m.

At 0821 BST, shares in WH Ireland were down 2.63% at 18.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.