Summary Profits after tax climbed 24.5 percent to 352.7 million ($589 million, 429 million euro’s) in 2013.
LONDON (AFP) - British investment manager Schroders on Thursday said its net profits jumped almost a quarter last year thanks to major acquisitions, but cautioned that 2014 was likely to be more challenging.
Profits after tax climbed 24.5 percent to 352.7 million ($589 million, 429 million euros) in 2013 from 283.2 million the previous year, Schroders said in a results statement.
Pretax profit jumped 24 percent to 447.5 million, while revenues swelled 26 percent to 1.81 billion.
Assets under management grew to 262.9 billion, up from 212.0 billion a year earlier, aided by the completion of two major purchases.
Last April, Schroders bought US fixed income manager STW Fixed Income Management, adding 7.1 billion of assets under management.
And in July it acquired wealth manager Cazenove Capital Holdings Ltd, giving the group another 20.1 billion of assets under management.
"2013 was a record year for Schroders," chief executive Michael Dobson said in the earnings release.
"This strong performance was the result of our highly diversified business and focus on growth over the long term."
The group also ramped up its final shareholder dividend by 40 percent to 42 pence per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to 58 pence per share, up 35 percent from 2012.
But the group cautioned: "After a year of strong returns in developed equity markets, 2014 is likely to be more challenging for investors."
Schroders shares jumped 4.35 percent to stand at 2,702 pence in midday deals on London s rising FTSE 100 index.
- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report -
