Ninety One Group

For the half year ended 30 September 2025, management fees were GBP 290.7 million, adjusted operating expenses were GBP 208.7 million, and core recurring results were GBP 82 million, up 2% from the prior period. Adjusted operating profit was GBP 98.8 million, up 12%; profit before tax was GBP 102.2 million, up 10%; profit after tax was GBP 76.7 million, up 11%; and adjusted EPS rose 15% to 8.4p. The adjusted operating profit margin improved from 30.5% to 32.1%, while the effective tax rate was 25% versus 26.3% in the prior period. Ninety One also proposed an interim dividend of 6p per share, up 11%. Looking ahead, management said the completed Sanlam U.K. deal added GBP 1.9 billion of AUM, and the South Africa transaction is expected to close by the end of the financial year, with expected total onboarded AUM of circa GBP 17 billion and revenue in line with prior guidance. Management said the 1 bp fee-rate compression guidance is still the underlying organic trend, though actual run-rate will depend on mix, Sanlam, and new mandates.

Hendrik du Toit said the business is “growing again” and emphasized that Ninety One is sticking to its core strategy while selectively backing new growth initiatives. He pointed to improved market conditions, stronger client appetite for diversification, renewed interest in active strategies, and a recovery in emerging markets, but cautioned that demand is still below historic levels and competition remains intense. He also stressed the firm’s long-term, capital-light model and said AI, technology, and new regional/private-markets initiatives are central to building the “active investment manager of the future.”

Kim McFarland said the core operating business delivered a solid outcome, with management fees up 3% and adjusted operating expenses up 3%, producing GBP 82 million of recurring results. She noted that the average management fee rate declined to 41.5 bps on a monthly-average basis, but said the daily rate was closer to 42.3 bps after adjusting for market timing effects, and that lower-fee mandates and the Sanlam mix are putting pressure on fees. On capital, qualifying capital was GBP 316.3 million, the proposed 6p interim dividend leaves an estimated capital surplus of GBP 155.3 million and capital coverage of 245%, and the company returned GBP 20.4 million via buybacks during the period while issuing GBP 13.7 million of shares for the Sanlam U.K. transaction.

Analysts focused on three issues: the strength and source of the flow recovery, the outlook for the management fee margin, and the pace of capital returns/buybacks. Management said the flow improvement is coming from broader client diversification, especially Asia and some institutional engagement in North America, but that final-stage conversion remains highly competitive and large mandates can materially move results. On fees, they reiterated roughly 1 bp annual compression as the market trend, with Sanlam and larger institutional mandates generally lower-fee; on capital, they said buybacks are considered against surplus capital and valuation, not as an automatic policy, and they will avoid overleveraging the business. They also addressed headcount growth, saying the 8% increase was tied to Sanlam preparation, client servicing, technology, and private markets build-out, and should not be a guide for future growth.