Change has arrived at F&C Asset Management. Last month, former chairman Nick MacAndrew was effectively ousted and replaced by Edward Bramson - founder of activist shareholder Sherborne Investors. That came after concerns over the debt pile following recent acquisitions, including that of fund manager Thames River Capital.
So all eyes are now on future strategy, but there's still work to do. Mr Bramson is keen to "build on things that work" and there is a long-term review of strategy under way. F&C also expects to deliver £12m of cost savings by end-2012, although halving the dividend, to help cut debt, was already well-flagged.
Still, strip out various exceptionals, such as corporate advisory costs from the Thames River deal, as well as the aborted acquisition of C-Quadrat, and F&C's operating profit rose 16 per cent year on year to £69.2m. Moreover, funds under management grew 8 per cent to £106bn. In particular, and for the first time in years, F&C saw a net £272m of fund inflows and ended 2010 with an additional pipeline of institutional mandates, totalling £1.5bn.
Peel Hunt expects its 2011 forecasts to remain broadly unchanged and expects adjusted pre-tax profit of £63.6m, giving EPS of 8p (from £46m and 5.9p in 2010).
F&C ASSET MANAGEMENT (FCAM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 83p | MARKET VALUE: | £442m | |
| TOUCH: | 83-84p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 94p | LOW: 46p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.6% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 104p* | NET DEBT: | 17% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | -30.5 | -4.90 | 11 |
| 2007 | 25.9 | 3.54 | 6 |
| 2008 | -67.3 | -10.70 | 6 |
| 2009 | 8.7 | 3.24 | 6 |
| 2010 | -19.2 | -3.31 | 3 |
| % change | - | - | -50 |
Ex-div: 30 Mar Payment: 27 May *Includes intangible assets of £788m, or 148p a share | |||
