Ashmore Group (LSE:ASHM), the specialist emerging markets asset manager, reported assets under management rose 13% to $54.0 billion for the year ended 30 June, driven by net inflows of $2.7 billion and $3.7 billion of investment performance gains.
Gross subscriptions increased 92% to $12.5 billion while redemptions fell 20% to $9.8 billion.
Adjusted net revenue fell 7% to £135.6 million on lower performance fees, but an £82.5 million gain on Ashmore's seed capital programme helped lift profit before tax 17% to £126.9 million. Diluted earnings per share rose 28% to 15.0p. Excluding seed capital, the adjusted EBITDA margin improved from 37% to 40%.
The board maintained the final ordinary dividend at 12.1p, taking total dividends per share to 16.9p, backed by more than £600 million of financial resources and excess capital of 73p per share.
Equities now account for 19% of group AuM, up from prior levels, while local office AuM grew 13%, led by Colombia, Indonesia and India.
"Ashmore's diversified global platform and focused emerging markets strategy delivered meaningful growth in AuM and profits during the year," said chief executive Mark Coombs, adding that the group's investment approach delivered outperformance across 77% of AuM over one year and around 70% over three and five years.
Coombs said emerging markets remain well-positioned as "US exceptionalism increasingly questioned" and dollar strength is expected to unwind, prompting investors to rebalance portfolios toward the asset class.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
Ashmore swung to net inflows of $2.7 billion and lifted profit 17% to £126.9 million as emerging market appetite returned, with gross subscriptions nearly doubling to $12.5 billion while redemptions fell 20%. The profit jump was anchored partly to an £82.5 million seed capital gain, but the underlying operational picture—stronger inflows, lower redemptions, and a 3-percentage-point margin expansion excluding seed capital—signals genuine momentum in a business that had faced outflows in prior periods.
The return of net inflows and the 13% AuM growth to $54 billion validate management's emerging markets thesis and reverse a period of client redemptions. However, adjusted net revenue fell 7% on lower performance fees, so profit growth is partly dependent on seed capital realizations and margin leverage rather than fee expansion—a dependency worth monitoring as AuM stabilizes.
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