Sanne profits half after margins shrink

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Trust and fund administration service provider Sanne Group booked a 50% fall in first-half profit, owing to one-off expenses and a contraction in margins.

Pre-tax profit for the six months through June fell to £5.4m, down from £10.9m on-year, even as revenue rose 17% to £78.7m.

Underlying profit, which stripped out expenses including acquisitions costs, fell by a more modest 1.3% to £19.2m.

Sanne declared an interim dividend of 4.7p per share, up 2.2% on-year.

'Our record new business wins demonstrate that Sanne's client proposition remains very attractive and our increasing focus on fast-growing Alternative asset classes is driving significant revenue momentum,' chief executive Martin Schnaier said.

'However it is clearly disappointing that the first-half profitability has come in materially below our original expectations.'

'I have two immediate priorities: to focus on addressing the issues that have impacted the group's margins, and to generate good returns from the corporate and private client business.'

'We are already working hard on each of these, with some positive results already coming through, and I look forward to reporting on our progress in the months ahead.'