Swiss private banking group Julius Baer has reported attributable net profit of CHF443.8m for the first half of 2018, a surge of 26% compared to CHF353.2m reported a year ago.
The group’s adjusted net profit for the half year ended 30 June 2018 was CHF479.6m, an increase of 19% from CHF403.6m in the same period last year.
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Operating income stood at CHF1.78bn, up 12% from CHF1.59bn in the previous year.
Compared to last year, net commission and fee income increased 10% to CHF1.01bn while net interest and dividend income dipped 2% to CHF554m. Adjusted operating expenses rose 10% year-on-year to CHF1.2bn.
Adjusted cost/income ratio at the end of June 2018 was 67.3%, versus 69.1% in the previous year.
Assets under management (AuM) at the end of June 2018 totalled CHF400bn, a 3% rise from the end of 2017.
The bank attributed the growth in AuM to net new money of CHF10bn, CHF4.5bn gain through takeover of a 95% stake in Brazilian wealth manager Reliance Group, as well as a positive currency impact of CHF1bn.
The bank also added 438 full-time equivalents since the first half of 2017, raising the number of employees to 6,643 at the end of June 2018.
Julius Baer Group CEO Bernhard Hodler said: “I am pleased that we continue to deliver on our targets and are reporting an all-time high in net profit. Markets had a strong and upbeat start to the year but ended the first half on a more cautious note, pondering the potential impacts of trade tensions and of an impending end to quantitative easing.
“It is a challenging environment, but one that plays to our strengths as trusted advisor of our clients. Based on the current outlook, I remain confident that we will reach our net inflow and cost efficiency targets this year.”
