Risk appetite is bubbling up nicely across UK share markets on Tuesday. The FTSE 100 is back above 7,100 points and is now within a whisker of printing 16-month highs. Better-than-expected economic data from the eurozone today has helped to drive stock markets higher all over the continent.
These gains are quite mild compared to those being recorded by the Intermediate Capital Group (LSE: ICP) share price, however. The asset management giant is up 5% in Tuesday business following a positive market reaction to full-year numbers.
The FTSE 100 firm hit record peaks of £23.18 per share earlier in the session. While settling lower, the ICG share price is still up 77% over the past 12 months at £22.70.
ICG prints record profits across the business
In its update, ICG said that it had enjoyed record profits across both its divisions in its financial year to March 2021. As a result, pre-tax profit for the group soared to £507.7m from £110.8m in the prior period.
At ICG’s Fund Management Company unit, pre-tax profit rose 10% year-on-year to £202.3m. Revenues at the division grew 14% in the period to £388.5m.
Meanwhile, ICG’s Investment Company arm swung to a pre-tax profit of £305.4m last year from a loss of £72.3m in financial 2020. The FTSE 100 firm said that revenues here increased to £426.3m last year from £27m in the previous period.
Following the results, ICG has elected to raise its full-year dividend 10% to 56p per share. This marks the 11th consecutive yearly raise at the financial services company.
FTSE 100 firm upgrades its fundraising target
In other news, ICG raised an impressive $10.6bn during the course of the last financial year, it said. This took total assets under management (AUM) to $56.2bn. And it was the third-largest yearly amount that the company has reported in its history.
“Client demand for our strategies in the year was materially higher than we had initially anticipated in an off-cycle year amid a challenging environment”, chief executive Benoît Durteste commented.
Fundraising has been so strong, in fact, that ICG has decided to raise its fundraising target to $40bn by 2025. The firm’s upgraded goal also stipulates a minimum annual raise of $7bn through to the middle of the decade.
“Excellent progress”
Commenting on the results, Durteste said, “It has been a year of excellent progress for ICG. We have delivered record profits and have continued to invest in our platform”.
He claimed that, “Our success this year was further underpinned by long term client relationships, the strength of our brand and platform, and our investment performance… We grew our client footprint and expanded our product offering with new strategies such as Life Sciences”.
Durteste added, “We have a business model and financial profile that enable us to thrive in dynamic market conditions, and I am confident in our prospects”.