LAIQON AG — Earnings Release 2008

Feb 18, 2009

News Details

Corporate | 18 February 2009 07:02

Lloyd Fonds AG reporting loss for the year for the first time

Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft / Preliminary Results

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• Full-year performance dragged down by weak fourth quarter and
  exceptionals
• Decline in sales to EUR 48 million due to low fund structuring and
  placement income
• Uncertain conditions preventing reliable forecast

Hamburg, February 18, 2009. Hamburg-based fund arranger Lloyd Fonds AG
placed equity of EUR 278 million in 2008, compared with EUR 452 million in
the previous year. According to preliminary calculations, sales declined
from EUR 90.1 million in the previous year to EUR 48.1 million in 2008.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) dropped from EUR 28.3 million to
EUR -4.3 million, with post-tax earnings contracting from EUR 20.2 million
to EUR -4.6 million.

Says Torsten Teichert, CEO of Lloyd Fonds AG: 'Although we had restructured
basic processes by reorganizing our sales and marketing activities at the
end of 2007/beginning of 2008, we sustained a loss for the first time in
the Company’s history in 2008 on account of the financial crisis. However,
Lloyd Fonds is so well positioned that we will be able to weather even a
protracted weak spell and are firmly poised to benefit from the certain
recovery in demand for closed-end funds.'

Lower sales and greater expense taking their toll on the full-year bottom
line

The bottom line came under pressure in 2008 from restructuring activities
as well as additional impairment expense on associates as well as interest
transactions. With respect to sales, the absence of any major exclusive
placement arrangements with banks as well as the drastic decline in volumes
in the fourth quarter made themselves felt, This resulted in substantially
lower placement income. Moreover, as no new funds were structured in the
fourth quarter, there was an absence of any new structuring income. In the
case of several funds which remained available for subscription in 2008,
the related income had already been recognized in 2007. As of 2008, a
greater proportion of the income on new funds is not recognized until
during the placement phase.

On the cost side, sales and marketing costs followed by staff costs were
the largest items, with pressure coming from the settlement paid to a
member of the Management Board who left the Company as well as further
restructuring-related expenditure on settlements. Both accounted for around
EUR 1,5 million.

'We did our homework last year. We are making use of the weaker demand to
reorganize our internal structures, to enhance the efficiency of our
processes and to improve profitability,' says CFO Michael F. Seidel. 'Thus,
the staff costs which we have budgeted for 2009 are around EUR 3 million
down on the previous year. Other costs items have been reduced and existing
risks eliminated.'

General economic conditions uncertain

The sustained critical situation in the international financial markets and
the so far unabated downswing in the real economy will influence the sales
and performance of closed-end funds again this year. On the one hand,
demand for investments in tangible assets not exposed to the capital market
will rise as interest levels will continue to drop in tandem with rising
inflation. At the same time, there is still excess liquidity in the market
looking for investment opportunities. On the other, capital market
participants’ confidence has been severely shaken, with investors tending
to prefer short-term liquid investments at least up until the end of 2008.
Now, however, these are yielding substantially lower returns.

Given the unpredictable conditions, the Company currently does not consider
a full-year forecast for 2009 to be possible. Although industry experts
project total placement volumes of around EUR 10 billion in the market as a
whole, i.e. on a par with the previous year, there is currently
insufficient forward visibility to venture an outlook for the individual
company. That said, Lloyd Fonds is well positioned to weather even a
protracted period of market weakness thanks to the restructuring measures
which it has taken at an early stage. Further contributory factors are its
high equity ratio, stable shareholder structure and existing liquidity.

Thanks to the efforts taken to cut costs and improve efficiency as well as
the growing share of non-issuing income, Lloyd Fonds can in the absence of
any exceptional effects already break even at placement volumes of around
EUR 150 million. Recurring income covers over 60 percent of the fixed costs
budgeted for 2009.

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

18.02.2009 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

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