Pictet recorded a jump in profits for the first six months. While the Genevan private bank traces this back to healthier client activity, net new asset growth foundered.
Pictet delivered a strong set of results on Wednesday: income stood at 1.35 billion Swiss francs ($1.39 billion), pre-tax profit at 418 million francs, and the bottom line at 321.3 million francs, the Genevan private bank said in a statement on Wednesday.
The 213-year-old institute climbed between 14 percent and 31 percent on the key metrics – and hiked profit by 30 percent. Pictet, which is not required to publicly disclose its earnings, is normally sparse in commenting its business, and the first six months were no exception.
Scaling Volume
Senior managing partner Nicolas Pictet said that each of the bank's arms – asset management, private banking, and an asset servicing arm for pension funds and other institutions –pitched in to the rise in profits and revenue in the first half.
«These results reflect new client acquisitions, strong client investment interest in certain equity and absolute return strategies, and increased take-up of our advisory offering,» he said in a statement.
Assets Founder
Pictet didn't disclose its spending or cost-income ratio, saying only that it continues to invest in hiring, particularly in real estate investing, as well as boosting its digital infrastructure. Given the rise in profits, Pictet seems to be using scale to cash in on its higher client volume.
Hometown rival Lombard Odier's profits also soared in the first half, thanks to volume perking up, as finews.com reported last week. As with Lombard Odier, Pictet's growth of net new money foundered: managed assets rose 3 billion francs to 509 billion francs.
«Collardi Effect»?
The bank is eying growth with its hire of ex-Julius Baer boss Boris Collardi as a new partner three months ago. Pictet's six-month results contain just one month of «Collardi effect» – to soon to pinpoint whether his arrival has already bolstered net new money.
Inflows of fresh client funds more than offset minor hits from swings in securities value and foreign exchange pairs. Pictet's key capital ratio stood at an ample 21.8 percent, with 2.6 billion francs in common equity tier 1 capital, which is the strongest form of cushion.
