Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LSE:HL.) reported lower revenue in the past quarter compared to the same period last year, as share dealing volumes declined.
Revenues were £142.2mln for the three months to 30 September, the first quarter of the wealth management platform’s financial year, which was down 1% on last year.
The pandemic boom in demand for digital share dealing has levelled off, with an average of 861,000 deals per month versus 980,000 in the quarter last year – although still miles ahead of the 479,000 the year before.
HL said the first-quarter average share deals equated to roughly 40,000 deals per day, which is in line with management's guidance given for the financial year.
However this was more than offset by previous guidance of a drop in interest on client money and a reduction in share dealing revenues.
The tapering of share dealing offset the effects of a 2% rise in assets under administration since the end of the last year to £138bn, which was driven by net inflows and positive market movements.
Chief executive Chris Hill called it a “good start”, focusing on the 23,000 new clients who joined and growth in assets in what is typically the FTSE 100 group’s quietest quarter, and a client retention rate of 92.6%.
“These results are against the backdrop of an easing out of lockdown and ongoing market uncertainty and highlight the importance of a resilient business and the strength of our proposition.
“The normalisation of revenues post pandemic is in line with our expectations and our focus, as always, remains on our clients, and their lifelong needs.”