20th May 2015 07:05
LONDON (Alliance News) - Intermediate Capital Group PLC Wednesday said it is to return GBP300 million in capital to shareholders through a special dividend, as it reported higher assets under management and profit over its last financial year.
In a statement, the specialist asset manager said it made a GBP178.5 million pretax profit in the year ended March 31, compared with GBP164.4 million in the prior year. Assets under management increased to EUR18.0 billion from EUR12.98 billion as fundraising inflows more than offset the outflows from realisations.
Revenue was down to GBP426.2 million from GBP463.5 million but the group reported lower finance costs and a considerable drop in impairments. Administrative expenses increased to GBP144.5 million from GBP114.4 million.
The company reaffirmed its commitment to increasing its return on equity, a key measure of profit for shareholders, to 13% after the ratio increase to 11.0% in the last financial year from 10.2% previously. The GBP300 million capital return comes after a GBP100 million share buyback and will be followed by a share consolidation to make sure the share price is comparable after payment of the special dividend. The company expects to provide further details on plans for its capital structure on reporting results for the current financial year, including whether any further capital return will be possible.
The company raised its ordinary dividend for the year by 1.0 pence to 22.0p.
"Impairments in our portfolios have fallen back to historical averages, and our recent European fundraising and investing has beaten our expectations. Our investment in product and geographical expansion continues and is beginning to deliver returns. This is underpinned by the strength of our balance sheet, which in its current robust form, allows us to extend our programme of returning capital to shareholders. Therefore, we are proposing a further GBP300 million capital return which will be distributed by a special dividend which will contribute to the increase in our return on equity to over 13%," Chief Executive Christophe Evain said in a statement.
"Strong demand for European investment opportunities that carry attractive yields and the improving economic climate in Europe have driven a significant part of both our fundraising and our investing success that is reflected in these results. However our more diversified global focus across a broad range of strategies will continue to deliver value for fund investors and shareholders over the long term," Evain said.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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