Perpetual chairman Tony D'Aloisio to retire
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More news: Perpetual's chairman Tony D'Aloisio will retire as part of changes to the board following the sale of the investment manager's corporate trust and wealth management businesses to private equity firm KKR.
D'Aloisio, who has served as chairman since 2016, will be replaced by Gregory Cooper, who was appointed deputy chairman in May.
Independent non-executive directors Ian Hammond and Nancy Fox will also retire at the company's annual general meeting on 17 October, in line with its board rotation policy. Both Hammond and Fox have been on the board since 2015.
Perpetual said it is "well advanced" with the recruitment for Hammond's replacement as chair of its audit, risk and compliance committee, while current non-executive director Fiona Trafford will replace Fox as chair of its people and remuneration committee.
The changes come a week after Bernard Reilly was appointed as Perpetual's new CEO and managing director.
What they said: "We have implemented an orderly transition of the board and with our focus now narrowing to asset management, we are establishing a future board of the size and requisite skills to take the business through its next phase," said D'Aloisio.
"On my retirement, the board will have reduced from nine to seven directors," he said.
Perpetual swings to full-year loss after impairment hit
The news: Investment manager Perpetual swung to a statutory loss in the 2024 financial year after recognising impairment charges on investment strategies managed by J O Hambro and TSW.
The numbers: Perpetual reported a statutory loss after tax of $472.2 million in FY24, down from a $59 million profit in FY23. This included impairments of $547.4 million, announced on Monday, following outflows of $8 billion for J O Hambro and $4 billion for TSW during the year.
Underlying profit after tax, removing significant items, grew 26% year on year to $206 million, above average forecasts of $202 million according to Visible Alpha data.
Operating revenue rose 32% to $1.34 billion while total assets under management (AUM) increased 1% to $215 billion.
Perpetual declared a final dividend of 53 cents per share, with total dividends of $1.18. It also noted that it is progressing a simplification program to deliver cost reductions of between $25 million and $35 million per year over two years, to create a "simplified, focused asset management business".
The context: Perpetual said that AUM growth was supported by an improvement in equity markets and robust investment performance across several of its boutique teams.
The company noted that AUM was also buoyed by the incorporation of Pendal Group into the business, while performance was impacted by "larger than anticipated" and "clearly disappointing net outflows.
Perpetual, which in May confirmed that private equity firm KKR will acquire its corporate trust and wealth management businesses, realised $81.6 million in synergies through its integration with Pendal, exceeding its target of $80 million run-rate synergies by January 2025.
What they said: CEO and managing director Rob Adams, who will step down next week, said: "The planned demerger of our wealth management and corporate trust will provide each business the focus and capital needed to grow in their respective markets."
"Perpetual remains focused on the successful delivery of the transaction and becoming a successful standalone asset management business with the strategic focus, quality teams, balance sheet strength and distribution reach to deliver growth for clients and shareholders over time," he said.
The sources: ASX announcement, ASX announcement
