Charles Stanley back in the black amid 'favourable market'

Broker and investment manager Charles Stanley Group broke back into profits last year and said it was "relatively well placed" to ride out any storm arising for the sector from Brexit negotiations.

For the year to 31 March profit before tax increased to £8.8m, an upgrade from the £0.3m loss they incurred the previous year as the company looks to continue its transformation programme.

Charles Stanley, which traces origins back to 1792 and stands as one of the oldest firms on the London Stock Exchange, noted the anxiety about the political and economical outcomes of Brexit on the financial sector but said apart from the current political uncertainty market conditions were "more settled and more favourable".

Paul Abberley, chief executive of the provider of wealth management services to private clients, charities and smaller institutions, stated: "The group has benefited this year from favourable markets but there is global economic and political uncertainty to be navigated including the UK's departure from the EU.

"While there is much speculation about the impact of Brexit on the financial services industry, we are confident that Charles Stanley, which has been at the heart of the city for over two centuries and weathered many storms, will continue successfully to serve our clients".

Volatile markets are a book for brokers and both level of markets and volume of investment trading rocketed after the Brexit vote in 2016 and even more so now with further uncertainty around the composition of the UK government.

Thanks to this, preliminary results showed significant progress for the company, while the market has created what it said was a favourable backdrop for the transformation programme "and should bring growth in revenues, profits and margins, which in turn will support our progressive dividend policy and thus generate long-term shareholder value".

Alongside the surge of profit before tax, the company's funds under management and administration, also soared 17.1% to 24.0bn.

The dividend was increased 20% to 6.0 pence per share boasting higher payouts for its shareholders.

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity forecast further strategic and financial progress for the company:"While CS remains a business in transition, we believe these full year results provide an increasingly solid platform on which to build.

"While further financial progress is likely to reflect the whims of macro and financial market sentiment, we expect further strategic and operational progress to support the wider transformation strategy".