(Reuters) – French funds manager Amundi said it exceeded its 2022 strategic targets on Wednesday, as it posted a strong rise in earnings helped by its retail business and expansion in Asia.
Amundi, which largely manages assets in Europe but has a growing presence in China, posted a quarterly adjusted net income up 14% to 328 million euros, bringing its annual figure to up 37% to 1.32 billion euros ($1.51 billion).
“We have now reached and surpassed the targets we laid out in our 2018-2022 strategic plan,” said Chief Executive Valérie Baudson in a call with journalists.
Baudson said the group would soon announce a new plan with fresh financial targets alongside a publication from its parent company, Credit Agricole.
The firm said inflows had been especially high from third-party retail distributors in Europe during the fourth quarter, and that it had also benefited from good performances from its Asian joint ventures – notably in China and India.
Amundi’s net inflows came in at 65.6 billion euros in the fourth quarter, while the consolidation of ETF specialist Lyxor lifted its assets under management past 2 trillion euros at the end of 2021.
The group expects to integrate Lyxor, which it bought from French bank Societe Generale last year, in the second and third quarters of this year.
It proposed a dividend up 41% from last year, at 4.1 euros per share.
Amundi also said it had surpassed its ESG targets for 2021, as it looks to ramp up its corporate responsibility with a new set of ambitions that would tie its performance to the pay of its senior executives.
A huge variation in scope, definitions and targets have made assessing corporate responsibility exceedingly difficult for investors, and asset managers face a growing pressure to ensure that their investments chime with Europe’s ambitions to limit global warming.
($1 = 0.8758 euros)
(Reporting by Sarah Morland, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
