AMP Limited has reported a net profit of A$884 million for the full year to 31 December 20141,, up 32 per cent on A$672 million reported for FY 13. Underlying profit 2 was A$1,045 million compared with A$849 million for FY 13, up 23 per cent year on year, driven by double digit growth in operating earnings across all contemporary businesses. The Board has declared a 17 per cent increase to the final dividend to 13.5 cents per share compared with 11.5 cents per share for the 2013 final dividend. This represents a FY 14 payout ratio of 74 per cent of underlying profit and is within AMP's target range of paying 70 to 80 per cent of underlying profit. Chief Executive Craig Meller said: "An increase of 23 per cent in underlying profit reflects a strong result in our domestic franchises of wealth and investment management, targeted offshore expansion and improving performance in our wealth protection business. "In 2014 we made marked progress on our strategy to be an increasingly customer-driven organisation that is leaner and more efficient. The other element of AMP's strategy, to invest selectively in Asia and take our expertise into new markets, is starting to deliver good cashflows with strong long-term growth potential. "These results demonstrate that we are executing well on our strategy and the potential of AMP's business model," Mr Meller said. Performance against key measures:
In Australian wealth management, operating earnings for FY 14 were up 13 per cent compared with FY 13, reflecting higher net cashflows supporting good growth in AUM and disciplined cost control in a growing business. Australian wealth protection has recovered well with operating earnings of A$188 million compared with A$64 million in 2013. "Pleasingly the wealth protection business improvement plan is delivering results and our focus is now on ensuring the changes are sustained with continued improvement to processes, products and culture," Mr Meller said. Other key highlights include:
Capital management AMP continues to hold an appropriate capital surplus, with A$2.0 billion capital above minimum regulatory requirements at 31 December 2014, down from A$2.1 billion at 31 December 2013. The decrease was driven by the redemption of AMP Notes and the impact of falling bond yields, partially offset by retained profits and other capital impacts. AMP maintains a strong balance sheet and has access to significant liquidity. AMP continues to offer a DRP to eligible shareholders and no discount will apply to the allocation price. Shares will again be bought on market and the dividend will be 80 per cent franked with the unfranked amount being declared as conduit foreign income.Important note: Forward-looking statements in this release are based on AMP's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond AMP's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. They are not guarantees or representations of future performance, and should not be relied upon as such.
Attached below are AMP Limited's FY 14 financial summary, and for the quarter ending For more information: Shareholders are invited to join a live webcast of the investment analyst briefing at 12.30pm today by visiting www.amp.com.au/shareholdercentre/webcasts. A replay of the presentation will also be available shortly after the briefing has concluded. 1 AMP's profit measures exclude MUTB's 15 per cent share of AMP Capital's earnings.2 Underlying profit is the basis on which the AMP Board determines the dividend payment and reflects the business performance of AMP. It is AMP's preferred measure of profitability as it removes one off costs, the impact of some investment market volatility and accounting mismatches. |
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