The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price has been quietly climbing higher in August. Shares in the Aussie wealth manager are up 2.8% in the past month, having hit as high as $1.16 on 13 August.
Those numbers may not seem like much to investors, but 2021 has been a tough year for AMP. The AMP share price has slumped 28.9% lower in 2021 and remains down 78.8% in the last 5 years.
Here's why August has been a good month for AMP and its shareholders.
What's been boosting the AMP share price in August?
Perhaps the most obvious place to start is AMP's full-year earnings result. For those who missed it, AMP reported a 57% increase in net profit after tax to $181 million. Group assets under management climbed 8% to $121.0 billion in what was good news for investors.
Controllable costs (ex AMP Capital) fell 6% to $387 million as AMP reported surplus capital of $452 million – above target requirements.
The news helped boost the AMP share price even as the wealth manager declined to pay an interim dividend. New CEO Alexis George has her sights set on the AMP Capital Private Markets demerger in the first half of FY22.
Shares in the Aussie wealth manager have been up and down in August but have managed to make incremental gains in recent weeks. That has also been helped by a broadly positive ASX earnings season including solid results from other investment management firms.
Investors appear positive enough about AMP's relative performance with the company holding onto recent gains as we near the end of the month.
Foolish takeaway
Prior to the company's earnings, the AMP share price was languishing just shy of an all-time low. While recent gains have not been monumental, they have helped boost AMP's market capitalisation to over $3.5 billion.
