Shares in AJ Bell PLC (LSE:AJB) fought their way off the lowest levels since the pandemic after the company hiked the dividend 46% as annual profits came in ahead of expectations.
The shares jumped 8% to 279p, having earlier this week and in October tested lows below 250p not seen outside of the pandemic in almost five years.
Pre-tax profit of £87.7 million in the year ended 30 September was up 50% and 5% ahead of consensus expectation as revenue was higher and costs lower than forecast.
The platform business saw customers increase 50,880 to 476,532 with net inflows of £4.2 billion, down from £5.8 billion the year before.
Assets under administration (AUA) increased 11% to a new record of £70.9 billion, driven by net inflows platform and market movements of £2.6 billion.
The AJ Bell Investments business also enjoyed record net inflows of £1.65 billion, up 57% versus the prior year, with assets under management (AUM) up 68% to £4.7 billion.
A dividend of 10.75p was declared, also 8% ahead of consensus.
Chief executive Michael Summersgill hailed the demonstration of the "ability to continue to grow in different market conditions".