LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Financial services company IntegraFin reported a "robust" first-half performance for its Transact platform on Friday, with net inflows of £1.6bn.
The FTSE 250 firm said although that was slightly lower than last year's figure of £2.7bn, it still represented over 6% of opening funds under direction (FUD) on an annualised basis.

Additionally, Transact platform client numbers reached a record high of 228,000, marking a 4% increase compared to the prior year.

Total group revenue for the six months ended 31 March totalled £66.5m - slightly down from the £67m it recorded in the same period last year.

The board put the decrease down to a 1% fall in Transact platform average daily funds under direction due to adverse market movements.

Despite that, underlying group profit before tax remained resilient at £29.4m - marginally lower than the prior year's figure of £32.4m.

IFRS profit before tax stood at £27.9m.

The company's earnings per share figures indicated a slight year-on-year decline, with underlying group earnings per share for the period coming in at 7.1p, down from 8p, while IFRS group earnings per share were 6.6p, a decrease from 7.7p.

IntegraFin also updated on the digitisation programme for the Transact platform, which was currently underway, and reportedly receiving positive feedback.

The recruitment of IT and software professionals was progressing, although at a slower pace than originally planned, due to a competitive market for such talent.

Recruitment efforts would continue into the 2024 financial year, but the board said the total planned additional headcount would not increase.

The company reiterated that the cost guidance it disclosed in December for both the 2023 and 2024 financial years remained unchanged.

IntegraFin declared a first interim dividend of 3.2p per share, matching the distribution it paid for the first half last year.

"I am pleased to report another solid performance, despite the six months presenting a challenging backdrop for UK consumers and businesses, with persistently high inflation, macroeconomic uncertainty and volatile asset markets," said group chief executive officer Alex Scott.

"The combination of the strength of the UK advisers we work with and the services provided by the Transact investment platform and the CURO adviser back office solution, ensured that we delivered a resilient performance.

"Overall, we remain focused on our aim to be the number one provider of software and services for clients and UK financial advisers."

At 1003 BST, shares in IntegraFin Holdings were down 2.67% at 269.4p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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