LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Arbuthnot Banking Group announced a half yearly profit before tax of £2.9m on Wednesday, rising from the £1.2m it reported in the prior year.
The AIM-traded firm said its underlying profit before tax improved to £3.4m for the six months ended 30 June, from £2.7m a year earlier, while earnings per share fell to 16.6p from 21.7p.

Its board increased the interim dividend per share to 16p from 15p, and reported net assets per share of £13.21, down from £15.40 year-on-year.

On the operational front, Arbuthnot said customer loans stood at £1.28bn at period end, up 16% year-on-year, while customer deposits were ahead 18% at £1.83bn.

Assets under management totalled £1.03bn, down 4%, but up 4.5% compared to December 2018.

The company's capital raising activities had secured £39.5m of regulatory capital during the half-year, with the company also agreeing the purchase of a £266m residential mortgage portfolio, which was expected to complete on 8 August.

"The group has had a good start to the year," said chairman and chief executive officer Sir Henry Angest.

"We have raised new capital, grown our existing businesses and continued to deliver on our plans to diversify.

"We have also agreed to buy a mortgage portfolio which should help to improve the returns of the group."

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