River and Mercantile Group PLC Annual Financial Report (1687M)

TIDMRIV

RNS Number : 1687M

River and Mercantile Group PLC

11 October 2016

11 October 2016

River and Mercantile Group PLC

Year End Results Announcement

Year ended 30 June 2016

River and Mercantile Group PLC ("the Group"), the advisory and investment solutions business, today releases its audited results for the year ended 30 June 2016.

Highlights for the year ended 30 June 2016

   --      Fee-earning AUM/NUM increased by 22%, to GBP25.5bn; 
   --      Net flows for the year were GBP3.7bn; 
   --      Mandated AUM/NUM increased by 17% year on year, to GBP25.1bn; 
   --      Strong performance in Fiduciary Management in very challenging markets; 
   --      Net management fees increased by 6% year on year; 

-- Overall, net management and advisory fees decreased by 2% year on year to GBP45.7m, reflecting decreased advisory fees;

-- Performance fees were GBP1.5m, compared to GBP5.9m in the prior year. This reflects falling fixed income yields;

   --      Statutory net profit after tax was GBP5.9m, compared to GBP8.3m in the prior year; 

-- Statutory basic earnings per share were 7.15 pence, compared to 10.15 pence in the prior year;

-- Adjusted underlying profit before tax(1) was GBP11.1m, compared to GBP12.4m in the prior year;

   --      Adjusted profit after tax(2) was GBP9.5m, compared to GBP12.7m in the prior year; 

-- Adjusted basic earnings per share(3) was 11.62 pence per share; compared to 15.46 pence per share in the prior year;

-- The Directors have declared a second interim dividend of 3.4 pence per share, of which 0.1 pence is a special dividend and relates to net performance fees. The dividend will be paid on 11 November 2016 to shareholders on the register as at 21 October 2016. The ex-dividend date is 20 October 2016;

-- The Directors have proposed a final dividend for the year ended 30 June 2016 of 2.5 pence per share;

-- The total dividends paid, declared and proposed are 9.5 pence per share, representing 80% of the adjusted underlying profit after tax and 100% of the net performance fee profit after tax.

Paul Bradshaw, Non-Executive Chairman said:

"The year to 30 June 2016 was challenging for our country, global equity markets, our clients and the investment industry generally. We believe we did a great job for our clients, achieved good growth in assets and acceptable - albeit reduced - profitability. This reduction arose as a result of continued investment in the business in expense and remuneration terms during a period in which advisory revenues and performance fees fell. We see the strength of in-force revenue at the end of the year as providing a solid foundation for 2017.

The ability of the business to defend, and even grow, client assets during this period vindicates our business model and underlines its defensive nature. Fiduciary Management and Derivatives posted strong investment performance and net rebalance on the day of Brexit and in June overall, leading to 5% AUM/NUM growth during the month alone. This remarkable result should further solidify our client loyalty, position us well for future opportunities and reduce even further our low attrition rates.

We are today declaring a second interim dividend and proposing a final dividend for 2016 bringing the total dividends declared and proposed to 9.5 pence per share which represents 80% of the adjusted underlying profit after tax and 100% of the net performance fee profit after tax."

Mike Faulkner, Chief Executive Officer said:

"In what has been a challenging year for markets, we have made significant progress in executing against our strategy and have achieved growth in assets across all divisions. We have significant growth potential from our in-force revenues and a strong pipeline of mandates. Conditions in the near-term should favour our Fiduciary Management, Institutional Equities and Derivatives businesses and we are well positioned to capitalise upon that growth in the year ahead."

Notes

(1) Adjusted underlying profit represents net management and advisory fees less the related expense base, excluding the amortisation of intangible assets and EPSP costs.

(2) Adjusted profit after tax represents statutory profit adjusted to add back the amortisation of intangibles assets and EPSP costs, net of applicable taxes. The Directors believe that adjusted profit after tax is a measure of the post-tax cash operating profits of the business and gives an indication of the profits available for distribution to shareholders.

(3) Adjusted basic earnings per share represents adjusted profit after tax divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding in the period.

The financial information set out in this annual results release does not constitute the Group's statutory accounts for 2016 or 2015. Statutory accounts for the year ended 30 June 2016 and 2015 have been reported on by BDO LLP, the Group's Independent Auditor.

The Independent Auditor's Reports on the Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2016 and 2015 were unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis, and did not contain a statement under 498(2) or 498(3) of the Companies Act 2006. The statutory accounts for the year ended 30 June 2016 will be delivered to the Registrar following the Group's annual general meeting.

The 2016 Annual Report and Accounts will be published in October 2016 and a copy will be posted on the Group's website.

Electronic copy

A PDF version of this announcement is available through the link on RNS http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1687M_1-2016-10-10.pdf, and from the Group's website www.riverandmercantile.com.

For further information please contact:

River & Mercantile Group PLC [phone]

Kevin Hayes, Chief Financial Officer

Chris Rutt, Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Investor Relations

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward looking statements with respect to the financial conditions, results and business of the Group. By their nature forward looking statements relate to events and circumstances that could occur in the future and therefore involve the risk and uncertainty that the Group's actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward looking statements. Nothing in this announcement should be construed as a profit forecast.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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October 11, 2016 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)