LAIQON AG — Earnings Release 2006

Aug 24, 2006

News Details

Corporate | 24 August 2006 08:00

LLOYD FONDS STILL ON GROWTH COURSE WITH CONTINUED SUCCESS IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2006

Corporate news transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Business performing in line with forecasts + Sales up 14% to EUR 42.4 million + EBIT up 17% to EUR 10.4 million + Consolidated profit up 31% to EUR 8.5 million Full-year forecasts for 2006 unchanged Hamburg, August 24, 2006. In the first six months of this year, Lloyd Fonds AG continued the encouraging business performance which it had achieved in 2005. Sales in the first half of the year rose by more than 14 % over the year-ago period to EUR 42.4 million in tandem with a 17% increase in EBIT to EUR 10.4 million. As a result, profit (after tax) climbed to EUR 8.5 million, an increase of 31 % year on year. At EUR 0.67, earnings per share in the first half of the year were virtually unchanged over the year-ago period on account of the equity increase in connection with the Company’s flotation in October 2005. Placement volumes up 18 percent Between January and the end of June, the volume of equity placed by Lloyd Fonds increased to EUR 197 million, 18 % more than in the same period one year earlier. Shipping products, which accounted for 81 % of the equity placed, performed particularly well. Attracting capital of just under EUR 114 million, the “Lloyd Fonds Schiffsportfolio” fund, which was marketed jointly with Deutsche Bank, achieved superb results. Lloyd Fonds’ efforts to market funds investing in traded UK endowment policies, which contributed roughly 19% to total equity placements, were also very successful in the first half of the year. Thus, the “BKL III” fund achieved excellent placement results. In fact, the fund volume was widened from EUR 30 million to EUR 40 million in June. “BKL IV” also met with a good reception in the second quarter of 2006. Substantial replenishments to the product pipeline in the 2nd quarter After twelve months of buying restraint, Lloyd Fonds made use of market opportunities arising in the spring to substantially replenish its product pipeline. “Following last year’s correction, charter rates for container ships are heading upwards again,” says Dr. Torsten Teichert, CEO of Lloyd Fonds AG. Lloyd Fonds sees positive signals in the market for container ships and considers warnings of a slump in the charter market to be exaggerated. “Understandable, but unfounded” are the words which Dr. Teichert uses to describe the pessimistic mood which has been pervading parts of the shipping industry since mid 2005. He adds that although the charter rate index of UK freight broker Howe Robinson, which tracks average daily rentals, slid sharply within the space of nine months, the decline in prices which emerged as of mid 2005 did not reflect any structural crisis but was merely a minor correction, which rid the market of the extreme overheating tendencies but still ensured that it maintained a very high level. Continuing, he says that there has been a change in the underlying trend. Following the completion of careful preparations, the container ship “Lloyd Parsifal” entered the market at the beginning of August. Acquired in April 2006 for a price of USD 101 million and in operation since 2005, it is one of the world’s largest container ships with a capacity of 8,200 TEU. By comparison, similar ships due for delivery in 2009 or 2010 are in some cases fetching prices 20-35 million dollars above that paid for the “Lloyd Parsifal”. In addition, six container ships with a capacity of 4,300 TEU each have been ordered. Turning to traded endowment policies, “BKL IV” is being marketed exclusively with a major partner, while “BKL V” is currently being retailed in the open market. In addition, Lloyd Fonds plans to launch further real estate and private equity funds by the end of 2006. Full-year forecasts for 2006 unchanged Lloyd Fonds’ goal is to continue growing profitably. “To this end, we want to further enhance the quality of our products and services and also additionally extend the range of services,” stresses Dr. Marcus Simon, CFO of Lloyd Fonds AG. Against this backdrop, the Lloyd Fonds Group still intends to achieve a placement volume of EUR 370 – 390 million, equivalent to an increase of 30 % over the previous year. At the same time, profit for the year is expected to equal EUR 19 – 20 million. This year, Lloyd Fonds will presumably not only grow more quickly than the overall market for closed-end funds but also outperform its two listed competitors. Key financials for Lloyd Fonds AG (Group) in EUR millions 1st half 2nd quarter 2006 2005 +/- 2006 2005 +/- Performance indicators: Sales 42.4 37.1 +14.3% 10.9 25.7 -57.5% EBIT 10.4 8.9 +17.4% 3.5 6.5 -45.6% EBIT margin 24.6 23.9 +0.7pp 32.1 25.3 +7.1pp Profit for the period 8.5 6.5 +31.4% 3.5 4.7 -26.6% Earnings per share (in EUR) 0.67 0.51* 0.27 0.50 Equity placed 197.0 167.0 +18.0% 44.0 103.0 -57.3% Balance sheet as of the end of the period 6/30 6/30 Total assets 95.9 52.6 Equity 69.9 18.5 Equity ratio 72.9% 35.1% Headcount (annual average) 90 61 93 63 * Based on 12.7 million shares About Lloyd Fonds AG: Lloyd Fonds AG is one of the top arrangers of closed-end investment funds in Germany. Since 1995, it has arranged a total of 71 funds. In 2005, it placed equity of EUR 286 million, an increase of roughly 50% over the previous year. Over the past few years, the range of products has been extended step by step to include real estate, regenerative energies and traded UK endowment policies. The cumulative investment volume rose to over EUR 2.7 billion. To date, over 27,000 investors have subscribed to the Company’s funds. Lloyd Fonds currently has 100 employees. Lloyd Fonds owes its success to its ability to arrange transparent fund offerings yielding high returns. In 2005, over 80 percent of the equity acquired was already being invested in return-oriented models and was thus not dependent on loss-allocation models. The positive performance of Lloyd Fonds AG products has been repeatedly confirmed by independent research institutes and fund experts. Lloyd Fonds AG has been listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange since October 28, 2005. WKN: 617487 ISIN code: DE0006174873 Ticker: L10 Contact: Lloyd Fonds AG Neuer Wall 72 20354 Hamburg ir@lloydfonds.de Dr. Götz Schlegtendal Telephone: 040-325678-0 (c)DGAP 24.08.2006 ————————————————————————— Language: English Issuer: Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft Neuer Wall 72 20354 Hamburg Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)40 32 56 78-0 Fax: +49 (0)40 32 56 78-99 E-mail: info@lloydfonds.de WWW: www.lloydfonds.de ISIN: DE0006174873 WKN: 617487 Indices: Listed: Amtlicher Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service —————————————————————————