Perpetual Earnings: Uncertainties Linger, but We Think Risks Are More Than Priced In

Narrow-moat Perpetual’s fiscal 2024 results were broadly in line with expectations, with underlying net profit after tax of AUD 206 million growing 26% from the prior year, driven by a full-year contribution from Pendal. However, EBITDA of AUD 409 million, a 32% increase, missed our forecast by 5% due to higher operating costs. Asset-management earnings (59% of EBITDA excluding corporate costs) underperformed our forecast, while earnings in wealth management, or WM (17% of EBITDA) and corporate trust, or CT (24% of EBITDA) exceeded forecasts.