Retail investment group Hargreaves Lansdown reported disappointing first-half results on Wednesday, sending shares down over 4 percent.

Higher costs and a lower operating margin led to earnings, profit and dividend all coming in at lower than expected. Net revenue was up 10 percent on last year, but pre-tax profit missed analysts expectations by 3 percent.

However the company’s assets under administration grew by 7 percent in the six months to December, with new business inflows growing 23 percent to £2.8 billion. Since its last half-yearly results, Hargreaves added 47,000 clients to its portfolio. In a statement, CEO Ian Gorham said the company was pleased with its performance, adding that: “these results were achieved against a backdrop of continuing volatility in world stock markets.”

Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:HL) are currently trading down 4.4 percent at 1259.00 per share.

03/02/2016