Q: Your thoughts regarding last report and going forward. Thanks.
5i Research Answer:
EPS of 21c missed estimates of 35c; revenue of $184M missed estimates of $210.8M. EPS fell sharply year over year. Assets rose 3.3% to $167.1B. EBITDA fell 31%. Asset growth was decent, but performance fees fell sharply, and this was the big contributor to the weak numbers. Of course, in this business performance is paramount, and just as the company was gaining traction last year it comes through with a pretty bad quarter. It is cheap at 6X earnings, and the dividend (still being paid) is 13.25%. But it is still very hard to generate excitement after these results.