AMP shares plunge despite profit, dividend payouts

At 2pm, AMP's share price was down to $1.13, its lowest level since October.

Nevertheless, the statutory profit figure was a significant improvement on the previous year's $252 million loss, allowing AMP to deliver its first regular dividend since 2019, shortly after it was accused of criminal misconduct by the Hayne royal commission.

The 2.5 cent dividend was funded by an extra $1.1 billion recouped from the sale of AMP's infrastructure debt and equity businesses, part of the company's continued push to streamline its operations.

"We continue to work towards completion of the sale of the real estate and domestic infrastructure equity business," chief executive Alexis George told investors.

The company requires one more regulatory approval to complete the sale of AMP Capital's equity business to Dexus.

"The completion of these transactions enables AMP to become a simplified and more customer-focused business," Ms George said. 

She cited challenging economic conditions and the decision to lower prices on superannuation and platform products for the profit miss.  

AMP slashed fees on its wealth platforms in May 2021 by up to 22 per cent in an attempt to curb a mass departure of assets under its management.

Lower revenue caused by market volatility also impacted the wealth management arm, with net profit after tax falling 44 per cent to $50 million.

Meanwhile, AMP Bank suffered from a 19 per cent drop in net interest margin (NIM) - the gap between what it pays out on deposit interest and what it makes on lending.

Despite rising interest rates improving NIM in the second half and a $2 billion growth in the bank's mortgage book, its underlying profits dropped by a third.

Overall, underlying profit for the group was down 34 per cent to $184 million.

As at 31 December, AMP had completed $267 million in share buybacks of a targeted $350 million.