Corporate | 6 November 2008 07:00
Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft / Quarter Results Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Lloyd Fonds AG reporting profit despite turbulent market conditions * Net profit of EUR 0.2 million for the third quarter of 2008 * Drastic decline in demand for investment products in the wake of the financial market crisis * Market not expected to recover until 2009 Hamburg, November 6, 2008. The Hamburg-based investment fund initiator Lloyd Fonds AG achieved a profit in the third quarter of 2008 despite the turmoil in the (financial) markets. This translates into cumulative net profit of EUR 3.8 million for the first nine months of 2008. 'With its successful business model, Lloyd Fonds has remained a profitable company even in the face of adverse market conditions,' says Torsten Teichert, CEO of Lloyd Fonds AG. In the first nine months of 2008, Lloyd Fonds registered equity placements of EUR 268 million, EUR 105 million less than in the same period one year earlier. Thus, equity placements of EUR 93 million were achieved in the third quarter despite the weakness afflicting the financial markets. Indeed, this was the most successful summer quarter in the Company’s history. Against this backdrop, Lloyd Fonds generated sales of EUR 45 million in the first nine months of 2008, down by around EUR 22 million on the same period one year earlier. Yet, it should be realized that this performance is closely related to the situation in the financial markets, which are experiencing the worst crisis in decades, together with the unexpected decline in global economic momentum. With the high degree of uncertainty in the market, both factors are causing investors to seek only very short-term and risk-free investments, while longer-term and less liquid investments are being shunned. This led to a sharp decline in demand for investment products throughout the entire financial services sector by September 2008 at the latest. Virtually all companies in the financial services industry are scaling back their forecasts for the current year, with many in fact sustaining what in some cases are considerable losses in the first nine months. Indeed, some have even had to tap the government bailout programs which have been established around the world. 'In the current environment, we do not expect any sustained recovery to emerge in the financial markets this year,' says Michael F. Seidel, CFO at Lloyd Fonds, adding that demand for closed-end funds is unlikely to pick up in the course of the normally strong fourth quarter, either. In initiating new funds, Lloyd Fonds will continue to follow demand very closely and, given current market conditions, is adopting a 'wait-and-see' stance. In view of the general uncertainty, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will not be issuing any new full-year forecast for 2008. Even so, it is clear that Lloyd Fonds has developed a business model which remains stable even in the face of crisis-ridden (financial) markets. With its preemptive business policy and efficient risk management, it has again not had to place any major losses on its books in the third quarter of 2008. With a stable balance sheet structure, a very high equity ratio compared with its immediate rivals and low leverage, it was able to finance all planned funds. Product selling remains more difficult, with Lloyd Fonds recording equity placements of only EUR 5,2 million in October.CEO Teichert assumes that 2009 will see a renaissance in tangible asset investments following the massive corrections in nominal (financial) assets. This trend is likely to be additionally spurred by the introduction of the definitive withholding tax in Germany, which generally does not apply to closed-end funds, resulting in an appreciable boost for this form of investment, not least of all those arranged by Lloyd Fonds. That said, Teichert admits that realistic estimates are not possible until the markets start to stabilize - hopefully over the next few weeks - and nascent long-term trends emerge at the beginning of 2009. Financialsin EUR millions 9M-2008 9M-2007 Delta Sales 45.5 67.2 -32.3% Non-issuing income 14.8 13.3 11.3% EBIT 5.6 14.9 -62.4% Net profit for the period 3.8 11.1 -65.8% EBIT margin 12.3% 22.2% -9.9Pts Return on sales 8.4% 16.5% -8.1Pts Total assets 125.4 105.6 18.8% Equity 74.0 76.0 -2.6% Equity ratio 59.0% 71.9% -12.9Pts Earnings per share (in EUR) 0.30 0.87 -65.5% Headcount (average) 156 126 23.8% Personnel expense 10.8 9.2 17.4% Personnel expense ratio 23.8% 13.7% 10.1Ptsin EUR millions Q3-2008 Q3-2007 Delta Sales 17.3 18.7 -7.5% Non-issuing income 4.2 5.4 -22.2% EBIT 2.2 5.7 -61.4% Net profit for the period 0.2 4.0 -95.0% EBIT margin 12.7% 30.5% -17.8Pts Return on sales 1.2% 21.6% -20.4Pts Total assets Equity Equity ratio Earnings per share (in EUR) 0.02 0.32 -93.8% Headcount (average) 163 140 16.4% Personnel expense 2.9 2.8 3.6% Personnel expense ratio 16.8% 15.2% 1.6PtsContact: Dr. Goetz Schlegtendal Lloyd Fonds AG Amelungstraße 8-10 20354 Hamburg Tel: +49-40-325678-0 Fax: +49-40-325678-99 Mail: ir@lloydfonds.de Contact: Dr. Goetz Schlegtendal Lloyd Fonds AG Amelungstraße 8-10 20354 Hamburg Tel: +49-40-325678-0 Fax: +49-40-325678-99 Mail: ir@lloydfonds.de 06.11.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Issuer: Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft Amelungstr. 8-10 20354 Hamburg Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)40 32 56 78-0 Fax: +49 (0)40 32 56 78-99 E-mail: info@lloydfonds.de Internet: www.lloydfonds.de ISIN: DE0006174873 WKN: 617487 Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------