13th Sep 2018 11:19
LONDON (Alliance News) - Gresham House PLC on Thursday reported the almost doubling of its income, narrowing its interim loss, as it anticipates paying an initial dividend at the end of the year.
In the six months ended June, the asset management company narrowed its operating loss before taxation to GBP378,000 from GBP1.1 million.
Gresham House increased its income to GBP4.8 million from GBP2.4 million.
Gresham House said it intends to propose an initial dividend payment in the company's 2018 full year results in December.
The company said the increase in income was driven by management fees for new vehicles - including British Strategic Investment Fund and Gresham House Strategic - being in operation for the full period.
The increase in Income was also aided by six weeks of revenue from recent acquisition FIM Services Ltd - including its FIM Forestry & Renewable Energy fund. Gresham House believes the impact on profit "will be more noticeable" in the second half of the year.
The company's assets under management nearly tripled to GBP1.61 billion from GBP649 million. Leading to an adjusted operating profit of GBP400,000 from a GBP800,000 loss the year before.
Gresham House's administration expenses - which excludes amortisation, depreciation and exceptional items - increased in the period to GBP4.6 million from GBP3.1 million.
The increase reflected the company increasing its number of employees to 45 from 31 due to acquisitions in the period.
Transaction activity and related fees increased the company's exceptional items to GBP1.0 million from zero the year before. The FIM transaction fees and associated restructuring costs were considered one-off costs by the company.
Looking ahead, the company believes its strategy is "proceeding as planned" as it "gains momentum", expecting a positive impact to its bottom line.
Gresham House believes it can grow organically but will also continue to monitor acquisition opportunities.
The specialist alternative asset manager said it is monitoring Brexit negotiations closely to "monitor risks" and will hope to "capitalise on opportunities as the fundamental characteristics of long-term alternative assets remain attractive to investors".
Chief Executive Officer Anthony Dalwood said: "We have made excellent progress in the first half, adding scale to the business, making us more relevant and accessible to a wider constituency of investors.
"The challenges created by wider macroeconomic and geopolitical conditions have increased investors' focus on our areas of expertise. We are gaining greater brand recognition by identifying and developing high-quality investment opportunities and providing excellent client service."
Shares in Gresham House were up 1.1% Thursday at 475.00 pence each.
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