Final Results - Year Ended 31 March 2000
Liontrust Asset Management PLC
24 May 2000
LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED
31ST MARCH 2000
Liontrust Asset Management PLC ('Liontrust' or 'the Group'), the independent
specialist UK equities fund management group, today announced its preliminary
results for the year ended 31st March 2000. The results are the Group's first
since its flotation on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in July
1999.
Highlights are as follows:
Operating profits (before exceptional costs) at £3.86 million, up 232%.
Core operating profits (excluding exceptional costs and performance related
earnings) at £1.74 million, up 50%.
Profit before tax (after exceptional costs) at £1.43 million, up 33%.
Basic earnings per share (before exceptional costs) at 8.32 pence, up 176%.
Funds under management at £1.114 billion, up 102%.
Addition of the Large Cap. Process plus the launch of Liontrust First Large
Cap. Fund.
Nine new pension fund mandates worth £270 million won during the year.
(The increases set out above are on an annualised basis comparing the results
for the year ended 31st March 2000 to the results for the nine months ended
31st March 1999.)
Commenting on the results, Nigel Legge, Joint Chief Executive, said
'The demand amongst professional investors for clearly articulated investment
processes which are thoroughly researched, well disciplined and rigorously
applied is growing in the UK, mirroring the experience of the United States.
'We believe we have established an excellent platform on which to build our
business within a growing and competitive market. Our proprietary investment
processes and business model give us a good chance of consistently
outperforming our investment benchmarks and of sustaining our competitive
edge. Our funds under management today remain over £1 billion, despite the
recent fall in market levels. The outlook for the Group is positive, based on
growing interest in specialist fund management companies, and our prospects
for winning new pension fund clients in the forthcoming year remain good.'
For further information, please contact:
Liontrust
Nigel Legge, Joint Chief Executive Tel: 020 7412 1700
HSBC
John Mellett Tel: 020 7336 9000
Merlin Financial
Paul Downes Tel: 020 7606 1244
LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT PLC
PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2000
Extracts from the Chairman's Statement:
The year has been an exciting time for us. Not only did we float on the London
Stock Exchange on our fourth trading birthday, but also our funds under
management grew to over £1 billion, profitability rose sharply allowing us to
pay off all our debt, and we successfully changed our name.
The Group has had a very successful year with operating profits before
exceptional items increasing (on an annualised basis) by 232% from £871,000 in
the nine months to 31st March 1999 to £3,860,000 in the year to 31st March
2000. Much of this increase reflects the success of the investment managers'
processes and the performance fees collected during the year. However, even
discounting these performance fees and the related increases in compensation
costs, core operating profits before exceptional items increased (on an
annualised basis) by 50% to £1,741,000.
We are well aware that the inflow of performance related fees is likely to be
erratic. Therefore, internally, we base our financial budgets on core earnings
(i.e. excluding performance related fees) and focus on controlling costs so
that as much of the increase as possible in core earnings is retained for
shareholders. Core earnings have increased by 41% in the year compared with an
increase in core costs of 38% (both on an annualised basis). This has been
achieved despite the additional costs associated with the recruitment of
William Pattisson in June 1999, which is, of course, an investment for the
future. Our adjusted basic earnings per share have increased by 176% and our
core basic earnings per share are up by 23% (on an annualised basis) to 8.32
pence and 3.72 pence respectively.
These results have strengthened our balance sheet significantly and allowed us
to eliminate our debt. We look forward to the time when we may be able to
declare our maiden dividend.
During the year we launched a new unit trust, Liontrust First Large Cap. Fund,
which is managed by William Pattisson and has performed well since it started.
Just after our year-end, Liontrust Winners Investment Trust PLC was floated
with £30 million subscribed, which William Pattisson also manages.
We have won nine new pension fund mandates during the year worth a total of
£270 million at the time of take-on and assets managed on behalf of segregated
and pooled pension funds exceeded £440 million at 31st March 2000. We continue
to be invited to pitch for new pension fund mandates and at our year-end we
had won two new accounts but the funds had not then been passed into our
control.
Sales of the four authorised unit trusts that were in existence during the
whole of the twelve months have continued to be strong and a growing number of
independent financial advisers are supporting us. We have recently
strengthened our sales team to service and expand this demand. The total value
of the Liontrust branded authorised unit trusts, including our offshore funds,
was £450 million at our year-end.
During the year we secured the administration mandates for eleven new unit
trusts. At our year-end we administered thirteen AS branded authorised unit
trusts, worth a total of £151 million.
Funds under management during the year rose by 102% from £551 million to
£1.114 billion. A substantial proportion of this increase comes from new
business but a modest contribution can be attributed to the increase in the UK
stock market, which rose by 7.5%, as measured by the FTSE All-Share Index.
These good results did not just happen. They are the outcome of a great deal
of very hard work from all those at Liontrust. The entire team's enthusiasm
and dedication is much appreciated by the Board and I thank them all most
warmly.
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held in The Beaufort Room, The Savoy,
London WC2R 0EU at 10 am on Tuesday 11th July 2000.
Ellen Winser,
Chairman.
24th May 2000.
Extracts from the Joint Chief Executives' Review:
Strategy
Common sense, focus and simplicity run through each of our ambitions, which
are to:
grow our profits by increasing funds under management in our chosen markets;
control our costs through the intelligent deployment of our staff and the
efficient use of third party suppliers to minimise growth in headcount;
improve our cost: income ratio;
reduce the total compensation ratio as a percentage of pre-compensation
profits to 55% by the year ending 31st March 2002; and thereby to
increase shareholder value.
We do not set ourselves strategic objectives for levels of growth of funds
under management over particular time frames as they are subject to market
fluctuations and are therefore difficult to predict. In our view, revenues
from both existing and new funds under management are more important than the
level of funds under management per se. Likewise we do not set ourselves
strategic objectives for levels of market share, as these provide little guide
to margin or revenue growth. Too often, market share is sought by companies at
the expense of margins.
We believe we have established an excellent platform on which to build our
business within a growing and highly competitive market. It is a model that
gives us a good chance of consistently outperforming our investment benchmarks
with our products and it is a model that gives us an excellent chance of
sustaining our competitive edge.
Progress
We have made considerable progress during the past year in all those areas
that we judge to be key drivers of the business:
1. Competitive edge and products.
2. Retention of our people and culture.
3. Financial controls and performance criteria.
Competitive edge and products
We have competed successfully in our chosen markets because our products are
clearly differentiated. Part of our competitive edge lies in the degree to
which we define our investment processes - the ways in which we manage money.
Amongst professional investors, the demand for clearly articulated investment
processes is growing in the UK, mirroring the experience in the United States.
We believe this demand from professional investors will continue and that a
smaller company ethos and environment such as ours helps foster the flair and
flexibility necessary to compete and to implement our investment processes.
Accordingly we believe our competitive edge is difficult for others to
replicate and is therefore sustainable.
Our three proprietary investment processes are our core product. These
investment processes are applied to the management of different types of UK
equity fund such as segregated pension fund accounts, exempt funds, unit
trusts, investment trusts and offshore funds.
Running different product structures on the same investment basis leads to
highly efficient leveraging of group skills, people and costs. Various product
structures are used to suit different client needs, but every portfolio is
managed in a way that is consistent with one of our three processes.
Retention of our people and culture
Our people and our culture are a crucial part of our competitive edge. We
believe that having the right culture is central to motivating, and therefore
keeping, talented people. Most of our key employees have worked together for
many years.
Financial controls and performance criteria
The operating profit, set out in the profit and loss account, includes both
the exceptional costs incurred during the year and the impact of performance
related fees. When considering our progress, we exclude the impact of
exceptional costs which relate to past events, such as the grant of options.
We then break down earnings into those contributed by performance related
fees, which we anticipate could be volatile and core earnings as set out
below:
Total Nine
for the months
year to ended
Performance 31st 31st
Core related March March
earnings earnings 2000 1999
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Gross profit 6,793 5,748 12,541 3,608
Staff compensation (3,110) (3,629) (6,739) (1,702)
Other operating costs (1,942) - (1,942) (1,035)
1,741 2,119 3,860 871
Exceptional costs (2,405) -
Operating profit 1,455 871
On an annualised basis, our core earnings have increased by 50% and our total
earnings (before exceptional costs) by 232%.
Whilst it is important to grow both funds under management and core revenue,
we are well aware of the need to control costs, particularly our fixed costs.
By achieving this balance and growing revenues faster than costs, an
increasing proportion of new revenues can be retained for the benefit of
shareholders. We monitor our success in achieving these objectives by
reviewing our cost income ratio:
Cost: income ratio (operating profit before exceptional items)
30th June 1996: 421%
30th June 1997: 143%
30th June 1998: 90%
31st March 1999: 76%
31st March 2000 (core): 74%
31st March 2000 (adjusted): 69%
Total revenue, including performance fees, has increased by 161% during the
year and core revenue has increased by 41% (both on an annualised basis).
Revenues typically follow the growth in funds under management, albeit with
some time lag as the full year benefit of new funds is not experienced until
the next financial year.
As part of the control of fixed costs, the major component of which is
salaries, the Board adopted a compensation formula to ensure that there is an
appropriate balance between employee incentive and shareholder return. As set
out in our flotation prospectus in July 1999, this formula specifies a
compensation ratio (total compensation costs expressed as a percentage of
pre-compensation profits) for the year to 31st March 2000 of 63.125%. The
impact of the performance related fees has allowed good bonuses to be awarded
to employees this year and therefore helped contain the increase in fixed
salary costs carried forward into the future.
The compensation ratio has been set at 56.875% for the year ending 31st March
2001 and is expected to fall to 55% thereafter. These reductions in the
compensation ratio will help us in our efforts to reduce our cost: income
ratio further.
Our consolidated balance sheet has benefited from the results for the year and
has strengthened considerably. Our strong cash flow has allowed us to repay
all our corporate debt more than two years ahead of schedule. As a result we
enter our next financial year with healthy cash resources and a positive
balance on shareholders' funds. This should allow us to strengthen further our
financial position and, ultimately, provide the resources that will enable us
to declare a dividend.
Nigel Legge William Carey
Joint Chief Executive Joint Chief Executive
24th May 2000
LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT PLC
Consolidated Profit and Loss Account for the year ended 31st March 2000
Twelve Nine
months months
ended ended
Note 31st March 31st March
2000 1999
£'000 £'000
Gross profit 12,541 3,608
Staff costs (6,739) (1,702)
Exceptional items 2 (2,405) -
Total staff costs (9,144) (1,702)
Other operating charges (1,942) (1,035)
Operating profit 1,455 871
Interest receivable 150 78
Interest payable and similar charges (174) (139)
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation 1,431 810
Tax on profit on ordinary activities (431) (116)
Profit on ordinary activities after taxation 1,000 694
Reserve for preference dividend - (16)
Profit for the financial period transferred to reserves 1,000 678
Earnings per share 3 Pence Pence
Basic earnings per share 3.10 2.26
Basic earnings per share (adjusted) 8.32 2.26
Basic earnings per share (core) 3.72 2.26
Diluted earnings per share 3.04 2.26
Diluted earnings per share (adjusted) 8.15 2.26
Diluted earnings per share (core) 3.64 2.26
LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT PLC
Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31st March 2000
31st March 2000 31st March 1999
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 338 319
Current assets
Short-term investments 92 42
Debtors 4,771 5,876
Cash at bank and in hand 6,515 2,416
11,378 8,334
Creditors:(amounts
falling due within one year) (9,856) (8,827)
Net current assets/(liabilities) 1,522 (493)
Total assets less current liabilities 1,860 (174)
Creditors: (amounts
falling due after more than one year) - (650)
Provisions for liabilities and charges (470) -
1,390 (824)
Capital and reserves
Called up share capital 329 300
Share premium account 1,543 -
Profit and loss account (482) (1,124)
Shareholders' funds
(inc. non equity interest) 1,390 (824)
Shareholders' funds represent
Equity interests 1,390 (1,182)
Non equity interests - 358
1,390 (824)
LIONTRUST ASSET MANAGEMENT PLC
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31st March 2000
Twelve Nine
months months
ended ended
31st March 31st March
2000 1999
£'000 £'000
Operating profit before exceptional item 3,860 871
Exceptional cost in respect of phantom options (1,935) -
Depreciation charges 84 44
(Increase) in short term investments (50) (15)
Decrease/(increase) in debtors 1,105 (3,859)
Increase in creditors 1,687 4,644
Net cash inflow from operating activities 4,751 1,685
Cash Flow Statement £'000 £'000
Net cash inflow from operating activities 4,751 1,685
Returns on investment and servicing of finance (24) (161)
Taxation (139) (24)
Capital expenditure and financial investment (103) (308)
4,485 1,192
Financing (386) (720)
Increase in cash 4,099 472
Liontrust Asset Management PLC
Notes to the financial statements
1. Accounting policies
The accounting policies adopted are consistent with those set out in the
Group's latest audited accounts and the flotation prospectus issued in July
1999. Additionally, in January 2000 the Company made a Stock Exchange
announcement regarding the performance fees it can earn on its pension fund
accounts. This announcement also explained that in some cases a proportion of
the fee earned is deferred until the next performance fee is payable on that
account. The Group's accounting policy is to include performance fees in
income only when they become due and collectable and therefore this deferred
element has not been recognised in the results for the year ended 31st March
2000.
Performance fees that may, or may not, be collectable in the year to 31st
March 2001, or subsequent periods, currently amount to £3.5 million. These
fees would add £1.5 million, net of compensation costs, to the operating
profit before tax.
2. Exceptional Items
Twelve Nine
months months
ended ended
31st March 31st March
2000 1999
£'000 £'000
Staff costs
Payment in respect of phantom option
agreements (a) 1,725 -
Employer's national insurance
due thereon (a) 210 -
1,935 -
Provision for employer's national
insurance on potential gain on unapproved
share options (b) 470 -
2,405 -
Notes
(a) As disclosed in the Group's prospectus issued in July 1999, 'phantom
option' agreements with W. E. S. Carey and N. R. Legge crystallised on the
listing of the Company's shares on the London Stock Exchange on 21st July
1999. In addition to the £862,500 paid to each of W. E. S. Carey and N. R.
Legge, the Company incurred employer's national insurance contributions at the
prevailing rate of 12.2%.
(b) The Group's prospectus also contained details of options granted to J. D.
Lang and W. T. Pattisson. Under current legislation the Company will be liable
for employer's national insurance on any gains made on exercise of these
options, which are classified as unapproved by the Inland Revenue. Whilst
these options are not exercisable until 21st July 2002 at the earliest, and
the Board understands that the Government is at present consulting on
suggestions to give employers, particularly those with high growth potential,
more certainty about their exposure to liability for national insurance
contributions, it is prudent for the Company to provide for this potential
cost. The provision has been calculated based on the share price at 31st March
2000 and at the prevailing rate of employer's national insurance of 12.2%.
3. Earnings per share
The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on profit after taxation
and preference dividend provision and the weighted average number of Ordinary
Shares in issue for each period. The weighted average number of Ordinary
Shares was 32,254,146 for the year and 30,000,000 for the nine months ended
31st March 1999. The weighted average number of Ordinary Shares for the nine
months ended 31st March 1999 has been adjusted for the effect of the 100:1
share split during the year.
Basic earnings per share (adjusted) is calculated after removing the
exceptional item and associated tax credit. Basic earnings per share (core) is
calculated after removing the exceptional item, the performance related fees
and costs and related tax charges.
Diluted earnings per share are calculated on the same bases as set out above,
after adjusting the weighted average number of Ordinary Shares for the effect
of options to subscribe for new Ordinary Shares that were in existence at 31st
March 2000. The adjusted weighted average number of Ordinary Shares so
calculated for the year was 32,932,772 (1999: 30,000,000).
This preliminary announcement constitutes non-statutory accounts under section
240 of the Companies Act 1985. The results for the year ended 31st March 2000
are unaudited. The results for the nine month period to 31st March 1999 have
been extracted from the Group's statutory accounts for that period, which have
been filed with the Registrar of Companies, the audit report on which was not
qualified and did not contain a statement under section 237 (2) or (3) of the
Companies Act 1985.
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