F&C Asset Management is on target to reduce costs by £33.2m as part of a restructuring following a boardroom shake-out early last year. But trading remains tough and assets under management had fallen by over 5 per cent to £100bn by the year-end, with a rise in asset valuations more than offset by net outflows of £7.2bn. And, while full-year operating profits held up pretty well at £65.2m, these were almost completely wiped out by exceptional charges.
Management fee income rose from £245m to £267m, boosted by the inclusion of a first full-year contribution from fund manager Thames River Capital, although performance fees dipped slightly to £11.8m. That's because there was a weaker investment performance in the second half of the year at Thames River. Moreover, around £60.2bn of group assets are managed on behalf of strategic partners where fees for managing these assets is considerably less. And one of these partners – Friends Life – is establishing an in-house management function and plans to withdraw £2.3bn of funds from F&C.
Numis is forecasting 2012 adjusted pre-tax profits of £55.1m and EPS of 7.2p (£47m and 5.5p in 2011).
| F&C ASSET MGMT (FCAM) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 70p | MARKET VALUE: | £372m | |
| TOUCH: | 69-70p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 83p | LOW: 55p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.3% | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 102p* | NET DEBT: | 14% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 25.9 | 3.5 | 6.0 |
| 2008 | -67.3 | -10.7 | 6.0 |
| 2009 | 8.7 | 3.2 | 6.0 |
| 2010 | -19.2 | -3.3 | 3.0 |
| 2011 | -1.5 | -0.1 | 3.0 |
| % change | - | -97 | - |
Ex-div:28 Mar Payment:25 May *Includes intangible assets of £743m, or 140p a share | |||
