ABERDEEN Asset Management has hoisted its final dividend by 12.5 per cent and said it is a year ahead of schedule in cost savings from the Scottish Widows acquisition which has transformed the business.

Aberdeen shares rose by more than 3 per cent in a falling market after it reported a continuing slowdown in outflows from its big emerging markets funds, and positive trends in other regions and asset classes.

It was reporting on a year with a which saw a step change in assets under management from £200million to £324m after following the £600m deal to buy Scottish Widows Investment Partnership from Lloyds Banking Group.

Martin Gilbert, chief executive, said the new Aberdeen was now "more easily able to ride out the ebb and flow of investor sentiment - in particular asset classes and geographies."

He added: "Markets are likely to remain volatile given the uncertain economic and interest rate environment but our new financial year has started well with our broadened product range attracting interest from a range of clients."

Aberdeen shares were up 13.5p at 463.4p, valuing at £6bn the business Mr Gilbert co-founded 31 years ago - and which is now Europe's biggest fund manager.

After a year in which sentiment turned against emerging markets and Far East returns were the lowest in 20 years, Aberdeen reported a 4 per cent rise in net revenue to £1.18billion, and a 9 per cent fall in statutory pre-tax profit to £354.6m. It saw £16bn of outflows from its Aberdeen funds and £4.4m from the former SWIP funds. But in the final quarter its equity funds lost only £110m, with outflows of £207m from emerging markets and global equity wiped out by £206m of net inflows into Asia-Pacific funds.

Barclays Wealth analysts said the multi-asset "solutions" businesses had lost around £1bn and it was "a better mix than we thought as we had estimated a further £360m outflows from equity."

Bill Rattray, finance director, commented: "This market looks a bit weak for some time to come but equity has a far better tone to it, the final quarter up to September was virtually flat for equities compared to some pretty heavy outflows for the first three quarters, and we have seen that continue in October and November."

He said some "attrition" of the SWIP multi-asset funds (down £700m) was inevitable in the merger, but the "solutions" platform was a key element of the strategic eight-year partnership with Lloyds which was "progressing pretty well on both sides."

Aberdeen will pay Lloyds up to a further £100m if five-year business targets are hit.

SWIP's well-regarded property team helped the renamed Aberdeen Property Trust to attract net inflows of £1bn, with further new mandates yet to be funded by clients. Fixed income, where SWIP also had strengths, saw a heavy £5.6bn of outflows in 2013 cut to £2.3bn, helped by positive flows into emerging market debt.

Mr Rattray said Aberdeen had targeted an incremental margin of 55 per cent in its cost synergies by the end of 2015, and was close to hitting that "a year ahead of expectations".

It is thought that the combined headcount of the two businesses in Edinburgh which was around 500 is likely to settle at closer to 400.

On how far the new Aberdeen had changed market perceptions, Mr Rattray said: "It looks as though we have still got a bit of a way to go, there are still some who look at our emerging markets exposure and think it is quite significant, and don't get me wrong, it is significant, but I think the diversification away from that is in progress and it will all just take a little bit of time."

Chairman Roger Cornick warned that " the fragile state of parts of the global economy means markets remain very sensitive".

The recommended final dividend of 11.25p makes 18p in total, up from 16p.