Man Group shares plunge 31 pct as 1H profit falls

LONDON - Shares in hedge fund manager Man Group PLC plunged 31 percent Thursday after it reported an 80 percent drop in first-half profit and said $6.6 billion had been wiped from its funds under management since September.

Net profit plummeted to $507 million in the six months to Sept. 30 from $2.5 billion a year earlier, the world's largest publicly traded hedge fund manager said.

The profits were hit by falling income from fees on asset management. Last year's earnings were boosted by the sale in the summer of 2007 of brokerage business MF Global.

Over the same period, the amount of funds the company had under management lost 9 percent to $67.6 billion, as the value of its assets fell, hurt mostly by sharp market movements amid the financial crisis. Sales increased somewhat more than client redemptions of capital compared with the first half of 2007.

The company said the value of its funds under management had lost a further $6.6 billion since Sept. 30 — to stand at just $61 billion at the beginning of this month.

"The period under review witnessed unprecedented levels of turmoil in financial markets," said Chief Executive Peter Clarke.

Shares fell 31.2 percent to close at 270 pence ($4.27) in London.

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