Challenger confident despite profit fall
FUNDS management groupChallenger Internationalhas reported a drop in net profit, posting only $35.8 million for the half year to December 2002, down from $109 million in the previous corresponding period.
Challenger says the drop was due to a number of one-off items, including a $14.6 million write down of the group’s UK operations and the sale of the group’s broking business to Bell Potter Securities as part of a bid to cut costs.
While the group’s overall figures stayed in the black, the funds management division reported a rise in pre-tax earnings to $24.1 million from $6.7 million.
According to Challenger managing director Bill Ireland, reaping the “benefits of scale in our funds management business” resulted in the rise in pre-tax earnings in that division.
“We’re averaging $50 million to $60 million in net funds growth a week,” Ireland says.
During the six months to December 31, Challenger attracted fund inflows of more than $700 million across its flagship products, including the Howard Mortgage Trust, Synergy master trust platform and Challenger High Yield Fund.
As a result of the increased inflows, research houseAssirthas labelled Challenger the fifth largest recipient of retail investment monies in its December 2002 quarterly reports, posting $11.9 billion at the end of December, up from $9 billion at the end of June.
Recommended for you
The emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up that claims to have built an advanced large language model in just two months for under US$6 million, sent shockwaves through the AI world and cratered US tech stocks.
Donald Trump’s presidency has already begun reshaping the corporate and political landscape in the US, with executive orders rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and clean energy efforts.
In this episode of Relative Return Unplugged, hosts Maja Garaca Djurdjevic and Keith Ford are joined by AMP chief economist Shane Oliver to take a look at what can be learned from 2024 as attention turns to what markets will do in the new year.
Join us for a special episode of Relative Return Unplugged as hosts Maja Garaca Djurdjevic and Keith Ford are joined by shadow financial services minister Luke Howarth to discuss the Coalition’s goals for financial advice.
