Henderson slump hammers AMP

A SHARP fall in profits at flagship fund manager Henderson and a slump in investment income have slashed profits at Australian financial group AMP by 40%. The company today reported a profit of A$690m (£250m) for the year to 30 June 2001, down from A$1.15bn the previous year.

Describing 2001 as 'one of the toughest years I have seen in my 30 years in business', AMP chief Paul Batchelor held out little hope of a rapid improvement and admitted the result was a setback for his ambition for AMP to become a top-20 global fund manager by 2006.

Profits at Henderson Global Investors came in at A$219m for the year, down from A$322m, while falls in the FTSE 100 index helped drag the company to a loss of A$26m on investment income, against a gain of A$617m last year. The UK financial-services division, which includes the former Pearl assurance and London Life, helped shore up the result with a profit of A$564m, up from A$468m. Batchelor said the division was one year into a three-year transformation and was 'tracking well'.

AMP derives about 60% of its business from the UK and Europe, and Batchelor said the company still planned a London listing. The company sold its 25% interest in Virgin Direct over the reporting period, but made two UK acquisitions - adviser group Towry Law and Interactive Investor International. Batchelor confirmed AMP wanted to sell all or part of its London-based Cogent administration business.