AJ Bell reported a 17% year-on-year increase in revenue to £153.2 million for the six months ended 31 March 2025, as the investment platform added 51,000 new customers and reached record assets under administration (AUA) of £90.4 billion.
AJ Bell Revenue Rises 17% in H1, Sees Strong Growth in Customer Numbers
Profit before tax rose 12% to £68.8 million, while diluted earnings per share climbed 11% to 12.36 pence.
The company told investors that it maintained a robust revenue margin of 32.4 basis points, though the profit margin dipped slightly to 44.9% due to increased investment in brand and product development.
Customer numbers grew to 593,000, up 9% in the period, driven by strong net inflows of £3.3 billion and favourable market movements. AJ Bell also noted consistently high customer retention of 94%.
Chief Executive Michael Summersgill said: “Our dual-channel platform continued to deliver organic growth, adding over 50,000 customers in the period and net inflows of £3.3 billion, resulting in AUA surpassing £90 billion for the first time.
“This performance has been driven by our low-cost, easy-to-use propositions, excellent customer service and improved brand awareness, demonstrating the benefits of our continued investment in these areas.”
The company returned £64 million to shareholders through dividends and a £30 million share buyback, and announced a new £25 million buyback alongside a 6% rise in the interim dividend to 4.50 pence.
AJ Bell confirmed that the sale of its Platinum SIPP and SSAS business to InvestAcc is expected to complete in the second half of this year, streamlining operations to focus on core platform growth.
Looking ahead, AJBell said it is confident in its outlook and has decided to accelerate business investment in the second half to drive long-term growth.
However, they cautioned that this has resulted in higher cost guidance, which is offset by increases to full-year revenue margin guidance.
