LAIQON AG — Earnings Release 2008

Jan 15, 2009

News Details

Corporate | 15 January 2009 12:59

Lloyd Fonds AG: Market-induced decline in placement figures despite growth

Lloyd Fonds Aktiengesellschaft / Miscellaneous

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.

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• Decline in placement volumes to 2006 level
• Sharp rise in placement figures via non-bank retailing channels
• Successful implementation of new structures and cost-cutting efforts

Hamburg, January 15, 2009. Hamburg-based fund initiator Lloyd Fonds AG has
today announced the total volume of equity which it placed in 2008. Total
equity volumes across all asset classes (ships, real estate, aircraft,
traded endowment policies and secondary-market funds) came to EUR 278
million for the year. Whereas a sum of between EUR 80 and 95 million per
quarter was placed in closed and open-end funds in the first three quarters
of 2008, new business in the sector as a whole weakened dramatically after
September 15. As a result, the Company’s placement figures for the year as
a whole reached the level recorded in 2005 and 2006, meaning that it was
unable to achieve the growth targets announced at the beginning of the
year. 'Closed-end funds withstood the effects of rising energy prices and
the turbulence of the first half of the year,' said Dr. Torsten Teichert,
CEO of Lloyd Fonds AG. However, they were unable to escape the loss of
confidence afflicting nearly all forms of investment in the fourth quarter.
According to rough preliminary estimates for the sector as a whole, equity
placements tumbled by over 25 percent from EUR 11.7 billion in 2007 to
around EUR 8 billion in 2008. Says Teichert: 'We expect tangible assets to
enjoy a growing renaissance this year. Not only because of the German
definitive withholding tax, from which closed-end funds are largely exempt,
but also thanks to their pronounced transparency and clear structures.'

Of the total of EUR 278 million, a sum of EUR 253 million was placed in
closed-end funds. Of this, closed-end ship funds, including several
single-ship and fleet funds comprising container ships and bulkers,
accounted for a sum of around EUR 117 million. The figure of EUR 253
million recorded in the previous year for closed-end ship funds had been
materially influenced by exclusive placement arrangements with major banks,
which had generated a sum of around EUR 200 million. Equity of EUR 70
million was placed in two aircraft funds, an increase of around EUR 25
million or 56 percent over the previous year. In the real estate segment, a
sum of EUR 34 million was placed in two hotel funds, equivalent to a
decline of 15 percent over the previous year’s figure of EUR 40 million.
The new asset class comprising secondary-market funds got off to a very
successful start, with the volume of the first fund in the 'Best of
Shipping' series increased several times before it was finally closed.
Equity of EUR 24 million was placed with German subscribers in this new
asset class in 2008. With equity placements coming to EUR 8 million, funds
investing in traded UK endowment policies met with only muted interest on
the part of subscribers.

Equity placements of EUR 25 million were recorded in the institutional
products segment, down from EUR 64 million in the previous year. Of this,
Germany contributed 96 percent and Austria four percent. There was sharp
growth in equity placements via non-exclusive retail channels in the year
under review, which share rose from around 51 percent in 2007 to 76 percent
in 2008.

The following table sets out the placement figures for 2007 and 2008 as
well as the changes in the relative shares:

     2008     2007     Differ-   Diff-   Share in total Share in total
     in EUR   in EUR   ence in   erence  equity         equity
     mill-    milli-   mn        (%)     placements in  placements in
     ons      ons      absolute          2008           2007

Closed- 117 253 -136 -54% 42% 56%
end ship
funds

Open-end 25 64 -39 -61% 9% 14%
ship
fund

Real 34 40 -6 -15% 12% 9%
estate

Aircr- 70 45 25 56% 25% 10%
aft

TEP 8 40 -32 -80% 3% 9%

Secon- 24 0 24 n.a. 9% 0%
dary
market
funds

Private 0 10 -10 -100% 0% 2%
equity

Total 278 452 -174 38% 100% 100%

Austria 13 15 -2 -13% 5% 3%

New structure implemented across the entire group

In Mid November, Lloyd Fonds AG announced that it would be adopting a new
corporate structure and also cutting jobs. By the end of 2008, this new
structure had been implemented in both organizational and physical terms.
Looking forward, the Company will be primarily focusing on processes along
the value chain. The purpose of the restructuring efforts is to combine
core activities which had previously been performed separately in each
asset class and to render processes and systems more efficient. To this
end, Lloyd Fonds AG will be focusing more closely on transportation and
real estate in the future. In line with this, it has established shared
fund development for producing issuing prospectuses and also implemented
joint management of funds across all asset classes. As before, the assets
themselves will continue to be sourced separately in the individual
segments.

'Lloyd Fonds is confident that this new structure will allow it to achieve
substantial efficiency gains in its processes and systems,' explains
Michael F. Seidel, CFO of Lloyd Fonds AG. 'In this way, we will be moving a
good deal close to our retail partners and their customers.'

The preliminary figures for 2008 will be released on February 18, 2009,
with the annual report to be published on April 21, 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

15.01.2009 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

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