UK's AJ Bell sees higher annual profit as market volatility boosts trading
21/05/2026 08:16
May 21 (Reuters) - Britain's AJ Bell AJBA.L said on Thursday its annual pre-tax profit would be higher than previously expected, as volatile markets boosted trading activity on its investment platform. Shares of the company were up 11.5% at 595.5 pence in early trading, also helped by first-half adjusted pre-tax profit that was above analyst expectations and a £15-million ($20.15 million) share buyback programme. Here are some details: AJ Bell reported pre-tax profit of £79 million for the six-month period ended March 31, above a company-compiled consensus estimate of £70.6 million. Elevated oil prices and heightened market volatility due to the Middle East war have boosted trading activity on investment platforms as customers trade more frequently in response to whipsawing markets. AJ Bell, which provides clients access to pensions and general investment accounts, and facilitates trading equities, boosted its interim dividend by 11% to 5 pence per share. Assets under administration in its platform business grew 5% to £108.7 billion, driven by net inflows of £4.2 billion. AJ Bell's Investment business reported a 10% rise in assets under management to £9.8 billion. ($1 = 0.7444 pounds) (Reporting by Simone Lobo in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) ((Simone.Lobo@thomsonreuters.com, +919920570373))