(Bloomberg) -- Abrdn Plc reported client inflows and an uptick in assets under management during the first quarter of the year, signaling an improvement in performance at the troubled money manager.

The Edinburgh-based firm reported net inflows of £800 million ($996 million) in the three months through March, according to a statement Wednesday. The assets it oversees rose to £507.7 billion from £494.9 billion at the end of 2023. 

The shares of the company rose as much as 4.4% in London, their biggest intraday increase since Feb. 27, before trimming those gains to 2.7% as of 8:47 a.m. local time.

Though Abrdn has seen intermittent quarterly inflows, it’s been trying to halt a long stretch of client exodus since its creation via a merger in 2017. Chief Executive Officer Stephen Bird, who took over in 2020, has struggled with his efforts to turn things around. Last year, investors yanked £17.6 billion from its funds.

Read More: Abrdn CEO Rules Out Breaking Up Firm as Outflows Continue

The company’s cost transformation program was “on track” as the firm tries to achieve a “more acceptable level of profitability,” Bird said in the statement.

In January, the investment manager announced plans for another round of job cuts to rein in costs and said it would eliminate roughly 500 roles, or 10% of its workforce, as part of a program to save at least an annualized £150 million. 

(Updates with shares in third paragraph.)

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