Man Group plc announces the following results for the financial year ended 31 March 2010.
KEY POINTS - FINANCIAL
- Profit before tax of $541 million (2009: $743 million)
- Diluted earnings per share of 24.8 cents (2009: 28.4 cents)
- Regulatory capital surplus of $1.5 billion; net cash balances of $1.7 billion
- Board confirms that it will recommend a final dividend of 24.8 cents per share for the year ended 31 March 2010, giving a total dividend of 44 cents per share for the year
- As announced on 17 May 2010, Board intends to rebase the dividend to a sustainable level, and to adopt a progressive dividend policy henceforward. Board intends to recommend a total dividend of at least 22 cents per share for FY 2011
| Year ended 31 March 2010 $m | Year ended 31 March 2009 $m | |
|---|---|---|
| Net management fee income | 462 | 885 |
| Net performance fee income | 97 | 358 |
| Profit before tax and adjusting items | 560 | 1,243 |
| Adjusting items* | (19) | (500) |
| Profit before tax | 541 | 743 |
* Adjusting items relate primarily to the gains arising from the sale of Man’s residual interest in MF Global, a one-off property cost, plus redundancy and other structuring costs
KEY POINTS – OPERATING
- Funds under management at 31 March of $39.4 billion (31 December 2009: $42.4 billion; 31 March 2009: $46.8 billion)
- Funds under management at 27 May 2010 broadly unchanged from 31 March, with the FX impact of the weak Euro counterbalancing the effects of positive AHL performance
- Trading conditions for the managed futures style have improved, giving positive AHL performance for the calendar year to date
- Announcement on 17 May 2010 of proposed acquisition of GLG Partners, Inc. to create a diversified alternative investment manager, with approximately $63 billion of funds under management and a world-leading position in liquid, transparent strategies
Peter Clarke, Chief Executive of Man, said:
“The last two years have seen significant change in the hedge fund industry, with continued investor focus on transparency and liquidity of investment strategies and on the stability and governance of investment managers. Man has long been focussed through AHL and the Multi-Manager business on providing liquid investment strategies offering diversifying returns for investors. During the year we have taken decisive action to address the changes in our industry, as well as the impacts on our own business of redemptions from institutions seeking liquidity within their portfolios and a period of negative performance at AHL. We have restructured our Multi-Manager business around the transparency and security offered by managed accounts; reduced our run-rate cost base materially during the year; grown our global business in onshore regulated offerings to reflect increasing demand for these products; and continued our investment in AHL to generate a strong research pipeline and enhanced trading benefits.
“Against this backdrop we have seen a fall in both assets under management and profits in the year. We start the current year at this lower level of assets under management and with AHL still some distance away from performance fee high water marks. However, recent AHL performance has been positive despite the volatility and uncertainty of markets, and we have won new institutional mandates in our Multi-Manager business of $1.5 billion which will be funded over the coming months and are not yet reflected in our assets.
“On 17 May, we announced the proposed acquisition of GLG. This transaction comprehensively addresses our stated ambition of acquiring high quality discretionary investment strategies which are liquid, transparent and have a low correlation to AHL performance. The two firms are very complementary in terms of the location and type of their investors, and the transaction will combine the strength of Man's distribution franchise with GLG's wide range of liquid strategies, either in stand-alone format or in conjunction with Man's existing investment capabilities. The combination will create one of the largest investment managers in liquid alternative strategies and offer access to a comprehensive set of investment opportunities across a global investor base."
Outlook
Man has entered a period of significant opportunity in its industry and believes that its business continues to benefit from a strong competitive position, founded on performance over the mid to long-term, powerful global distribution and structuring capability, financial strength and effective business management. Man’s proposed acquisition of GLG will further strengthen the company’s competitive positioning and Man will continue to build upon these foundations, with a strong expectation over the coming years that it will grow assets and market share.
Dividend
The Board confirms that it will recommend a final dividend of 24.8 cents per share for the year ended 31 March 2010, giving an unchanged total dividend for the year of 44 cents per share as previously announced on 24 March and 17 May 2010. This dividend will be paid at the rate of 17.20 pence per existing share.
In parallel to the proposed acquisition of GLG, Man has reviewed its dividend policy, the guiding principle being that its dividend should be rebased at a sustainable level. Man has brought forward its decision regarding the level of the full year dividend for 2010/11 and has announced its intention to recommend a total dividend of at least 22 cents per share for that year. Man’s intention is to adopt a progressive dividend policy from here forward.
Dates for the 2010 Final Dividend
Ex dividend date 30 June 2010
Record date 2 July 2010
Payment date 20 July 2010
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