Janus Henderson Group (ASX: JHG) shares are on watch today after the group's half-year results release.
What did the group report yesterday?
The Aussie investment group reported strong investment performance with 76% and 77% of assets under management (AUM) outperforming their benchmarks on a 3 and 5 year basis.
Janus Henderson shares are worth watching after reporting fourth quarter 2019 operating income of US$154.3 million for the period ended 31 December.
That represents a 2.87% increase on the prior corresponding period (pcp) and 7.45% on the previous quarter. Adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) climbed 10% on pcp to US 65 cents.
However, Janus Henderson also reported a compressed quarterly operating margin of 25.7%. That's down 110 basis points (bps) from the previous quarter while the adjusted margin (35.8%) fell 320 bps from FY18.
Total AUM climbed 14% in FY19 with strong market performance partially offsetting by net outflows. Janus Henderson shares are on watch after reporting net flows of -US$27.4 billion compared to -US$18.1 billion in FY18.
The largest outflows came in the group's Quantitative Equities (-US$10.8 billion) segment during the year. In terms of client-type, the group's Institutional clients had the largest redemptions.
Strong gross sales numbers helped reduce total outflows which hurt Janus Henderson shares in its August half-year results.
Management fees represent the largest source of adjusted revenue with US$1,725.9 million in FY19. The net management fee margin increased by 0.5 bps in Q4 2019 with a boost from higher fee inflows.
How have Janus Henderson shares performed recently?
Janus Henderson shares have been climbing higher to start the year and closed at $38.54 yesterday. That represents a 46.48% increase from mid-August last year and the share price is now at a 52-week high.
The group's share price could be moving in early trade after becoming the latest ASX 200 company to report its earnings in February. It will be interesting to see how shares in fellow ASX wealth managers Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT) and Magellan Financial Group (ASX: MFG) perform today.
I'll be keeping an eye on Janus Henderson in today's trade following its Q4 2019 and FY19 results release.
