St. James's Place PLC has released its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2023. The company reported a robust underlying financial performance, with a pre-tax underlying cash result of £483.0 million, in line with the prior year. However, the post-tax cash result was significantly impacted by a one-off provision of £426.0 million pre-tax (£323.7 million post-tax) established for potential client refunds linked to the historic evidencing and delivery of ongoing servicing.

The company also reported an IFRS loss after tax of £(9.9) million, a decrease from the £407.2 million profit in 2022. The EEV net asset value per share was £14.11, down from £16.66 in 2022. St. James's Place PLC announced a final dividend of 8.00 pence per share, resulting in a full-year dividend of 23.83 pence per share, a decrease from 52.78 pence per share in 2022.

The company has revised its future dividend guidance, with total annual shareholder distributions now set at 50% of the full-year underlying cash result. This change will include a fixed full-year dividend of 18.00 pence per share declared for each of FY2024, FY2025, and FY2026, with the balance of distributions delivered through share repurchases. The board anticipates the capacity to grow the dividend proportion of total shareholder distributions as the earnings trajectory improves during FY2027 and beyond.

Mark FitzPatrick, Chief Executive Officer, acknowledged the challenging backdrop for UK savers and investors but highlighted the company's resilient business performance, driven by strong net inflows, high client retention, and record funds under management. He also addressed the impact of the provision for potential client refunds, stating that the investment made into Salesforce CRM system gives confidence that it is a historic issue.

FitzPatrick emphasized the importance of returns to shareholders and the board's confidence in the company's capital and liquidity to deal with the financial impact of the provision. He also noted that the provision and an expected decrease in profit growth in the next few years due to the transition to a new charging structure will reduce the ability to invest for long-term growth, leading to the revision of the approach to shareholder distributions.

In conclusion, despite the challenges faced in 2023, St. James's Place PLC has addressed its difficulties and is confident in its ability to navigate the financial impact of the provision. The company's revised approach to shareholder distributions aims to strike a balance between investment for growth and returns to shareholders, with expectations of increasing shareholder distributions over time as the business's profits improve.