LMS Capital (LMS) is in the process of winding itself down and last year raised £43.2m through the sale of part of the investment portfolio. There's no dividend but, in December 2012, the investment manager returned £40m of the proceeds of the sale through a tender offer at 84p. Shareholders were clearly on to a good thing - as highlighted by our Companies Editor, Simon Thompson in November, shareholders could sell their shares at close to the 85p book value and use the proceeds to buy them back at the then market price of 67p.
The group's investment portfolio was valued at end-December at £179.3m, with further realisations made in the current year. Moreover, and despite the uncertain economic background, LMS expects to release further cash to shareholders in the coming year - realisation of the portfolio is expected to take between two and four years. Net asset value (NAV) did slip a little in the year, but this was largely down to a £5.5m negative share price performance on the quoted investment book, as well as £5.6m of unrealised currency losses - although these were partly offset by an £8m uplift in the value of unquoted investments and funds. Given the shrinking size of the company, the management team is also being downsized - and further changes in the management structure are expected this year.
| LMS CAPITAL (LMS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 72p | MARKET VALUE: | £163m | |
| TOUCH: | 72-73p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 74p | LOW: 58p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| DISCOUNT TO NAV: | 15% | NET CASH: | £11.5m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Net asset value (p) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 89.0 | -56.3 | -20.1 | nil |
| 2009 | 84.0 | -11.5 | -4.70 | nil |
| 2010 | 90.0 | 26.7 | 8.60 | nil |
| 2011 | 90.0 | -0.37 | -0.60 | nil |
| 2012 | 85.0 | -11.7 | -4.80 | nil |
| % change | -6 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: - Payment: - | ||||
