Polar Capital Holdings PLC on Monday reported a lower profit as assets under management dropped amid a ‘difficult’ period for the company.

The London-based asset manager said pretax profit for the year ended March 31 fell by 27% to £45.2 million from £62.1 million a year prior. This was amid a 13% drop in assets under management to £19.2 billion from £22.1 in financial 2022, despite lower share based payments and exceptional items.

Polar Capital said the drop in AuM consisted of net redemptions of £1.5 billion, outflows from fund closures of £500 million and a £900 million decrease related to market movement and fund performance.

Revenue was down 18% to £182.9 million from £224.1 million the year before.

Polar Capital declared a total dividend for financial 2023 of 46.0 pence, unchanged from a year prior.

Looking ahead, the asset manager said the year ahead remains ‘uncertain’ and fund sales remain ‘difficult to predict.’ Nonetheless, Polar Capital said its forecast for the year ‘favours the positive’ due to a strong balance sheet and fund strategies.

Shares in Polar Capital Holdings were down 1.2% at 488.35 pence each in London on Monday morning.

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