Market turmoil and a cancelled deal with a rival saw Abrdn plunge to a £320 million first-half loss.
The asset manager’s shares closed more than 6% lower Tuesday after it revealed a similar percentage drop in assets under management to £508 billion, compared with £542bn a year earlier.
Chief executive Stephen Bird said the half year results “largely reflect the challenging global economic environment and market turbulence”.
The Edinburgh-headquartered firm was created out of the mega-merger of Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life in 2017.
Abrdn, which announced its name change last year, was also hit by the withdrawal of more than £24bn of assets linked to a deal with Lloyds Banking Group that was cancelled due to competition fears ahead of the two giants becoming one.
The company employs 5,000 people around the globe, including at its namesake office in Aberdeen.
Share slump impact
The shares fell to well under half the level at which the merger was struck which means Abrdn is in the relegation zone of the FTSE 100 index.
This was despite recent acquisitions meant to diversify the business, including the investment platform Interactive Investor which it bought in a £1.5bn deal announced in December.
John Moore, senior investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, said the figures “confirm the tricky position the company finds itself in.”
He added: “After a challenging year or so, between market turbulence and a restructuring of its business, Abrdn finds itself at the edge of the FTSE 100 having lost around -30% of its value since the beginning of 2022.
“The purchase of Tritax and Interactive Investor have reshaped the company and appear to be performing well, but there are some more strategic moves required to get the fund manager back on track.
“Abrdn seems certain to be relegated from London’s top index unless it can pull something out of the bag in the near-term.”
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