Tavistock Investments grows profits as cost-saving initiatives bear fruit

Tavistock Investments PLC (LON:TAVI) has announced a sharp increase in half-year adjusted underlying profits (EBITDA) despite the challenges thrown up by the coronavirus pandemic.

The company’s reported adjusted EBITDA in the six months to the end of September 2020 rose by 25% to £1.26mln from £1.01mln the year before, despite revenues easing 7% to £13.38mln from £14.31mln the previous year.

The directors of the wealth management firm said they plan to resume dividend payments this (fiscal) year.

The level of funds under management remained more or less unchanged from a year earlier at £1.1bn at the end of September “despite the recent blows to customer confidence and the sudden and sustained falls in the market value of investment assets”.

The group is about to launch a new low-cost platform service, the Tavistock Platform, for use by the clients of the group’s advisers. Tavistock will then be delivering all aspects of the financial services value chain to retail clients – financial advice, investment management and the platform service that provides for the administration and custodianship of clients’ assets.

“In a year of unprecedented pressure on our business, I am delighted by our group’s performance and by how well our management team has adapted,” said Brian Raven, the chief executive officer of Tavistock in a statement.

“We have undertaken a comprehensive cost-saving exercise and are accelerating plans to significantly scale up our business. I am confident that these initiatives will enable us to deliver greater value to our shareholders and look forward to managing a growing dividend for their benefit,” he added.