Swiss private bank Julius Baer reported profits falling by a quarter during the first half of the year, characterizing them nevertheless as resilient.

Julius Baer's key earnings metrics worsened perceptibly in the first half, with both profit and earnings per share down by around a quarter from a year earlier, according to a media release issued by the Zurich-based bank on Monday. 

In the statement, the bank reported net profit attributable to shareholders falling 26 percent to 451 million francs ($468 million), driving earnings per share down 24 percent to 2.15 francs (both IFRS measures), a performance it characterized as «resilient» in view of the significant market correction and slowdown in client activity.

«We look back at a historical six-month period of unprecedented geopolitical events that had a deep impact on asset valuations and client sentiment» Julius Baer CEO Philipp Rickenbacker indicated, saying that the bank was remaining focused on achieving its targets in its current strategic cycle, which ends this year.

Falling AUM

In the same period, assets under management (AUM) declined 11 percent to 428 billion francs. This was a result of significant corrections in global equity and bond markets in one of the worst six-month periods for capital markets in decades, according to the bank. 

The bank said that there had been a «meaningful recovery» in net new money of 1.5 billion francs since end-April, which limited total net outflows in the first half to 1.1 billion francs. Early in the first half, the number of clients that were mainly domiciled in Asia reacted to the market uncertainty by de-risking investment portfolios and cutting leverage.

«The impact on net new money from this deleveraging peaked in March 2022, after which it diminished significantly,» the bank said.

Share Buybacks

In early March, Julius Baer launched a new 12-month program to buy back up to 400 million francs of Julius Baer Group shares. By the end of June, a total of 2,522,072 shares had been repurchased at an aggregate cost of 122 million francs.