eQ PLC STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE
3 May 2016 at 8:00 a.m.
January to March 2016 in brief
- During the period under review, the Group's net revenue grew by 44 per cent to EUR 9.4 million (EUR 6.5 million from 1 Jan. to 31 March 2015).
- The Group’s net fee and commission income increased to EUR 9.1 million (EUR 6.2 million).
- The Group’s net investment income from own investment operations was EUR 0.4 million (EUR 0.4 million).
- The Group’s operating profit grew by 64 per cent to EUR 4.1 million (EUR 2.5 million).
- The Group’s profit was EUR 3.3 million (EUR 2.0 million).
- Consolidated earnings per share grew by 63 per cent to EUR 0.09 (EUR 0.05).
- The net cash flow from own investment operations was EUR 0.1 million (EUR 1.5 million from 1 Jan. to 31 March 2015) and the change in fair value was EUR 0.0 million (EUR 0.7 million).
| Key ratios | 1-3/16 | 1-3/15 | Change % | 1-12/15 |
| Net revenue, Group, M€ | 9.4 | 6.5 | 44% | 30.5 |
| Net revenue, Asset Management, M€ | 6.1 | 5.4 | 14% | 21.7 |
| Net revenue, Corporate Finance, M€ | 3.0 | 0.9 | 230% | 7.0 |
| Net revenue, Investments, M€ | 0.3 | 0.3 | 8% | 1.8 |
| Net revenue, Group admin. | ||||
| and eliminations, M€ | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 |
| Operating profit, Group, M€ | 4.1 | 2.5 | 64% | 13.2 |
| Operating profit, Asset Management, M€ | 2.7 | 2.4 | 12% | 9.6 |
| Operating profit, Corporate Finance, M€ | 1.6 | 0.3 | 430% | 3.4 |
| Operating profit, Investments, M€ | 0.3 | 0.3 | 8% | 1.8 |
| Operating profit, Group administration, M€ | -0.4 | -0.4 | -6% | -1.6 |
| Profit for the period, M€ | 3.3 | 2.0 | 63% | 10.5 |
| Earnings per share, € | 0.09 | 0.05 | 63% | 0.29 |
| Equity per share, € | 1.50 | 1.68 | -11% | 1.91 |
| Cost/income ratio, Group, % | 55.0 | 59.8 | -8% | 55.1 |
| Liquid assets, M€ | 24.2 | 26.9 | -10% | 21.6 |
| Private equity investments, M€ | 22.8 | 26.9 | -15% | 22.5 |
| Interest-bearing liabilities, M€ | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 0.0 |
| Assets under management, € billion | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0% | 7.6 |
Janne Larma, CEO
eQ succeeded excellently in the first quarter of the year, even though the market situation was demanding in general. We managed to increase our net revenue by 44 per cent to EUR 9.4 million and our operating profit to EUR 4.1 million from the previous year. The Group’s profit for the period increased by 63 per cent to EUR 3.3 million.
The fee and commission income of eQ Asset Management increased by 14%
The year started off with great uncertainty. Share prices plummeted, the price of oil fell, as did expectations on the development of the world economy. These negative news did not last long, however. Positive news began to emerge during the first quarter and even share prices began to rise. As a rule, the return of the share market remained negative in the first quarter, however. The MSCI World index fell by 5.0 percent in the first three months, while the Helsinki Stock Exchange (OMXH Cap) fell by 3.3 per cent.
The business operations of eQ Asset Management developed rather positively despite the difficult market situation. The net revenue of the Asset Management segment increased by 14 per cent to EUR 6.1 million and the operating profit by 12 per cent to EUR 2.7 million. The growth of the net revenue was mainly based on the growth of private equity and real estate asset management, as it was the year before. The management fees of these operations grew by 54 per cent on the previous year. The real estate assets in our two real estate funds exceeded EUR 600 million at the end of March, which exceeds the figure at the end of March 2015 by more than EUR 400 million. The sales of the real estate funds continued to be very strong and new subscriptions worth EUR 86 million were made in the funds at the end of March. The interest in private equity investments is also on the rise. The first close of our latest private equity fund eQ PE VIII North took place at the beginning of February at EUR 51 million and the second in April, when we received additional investment commitments worth EUR 34 million to the fund. The raising of funds will continue during the spring, and the final close will take place In June. The returns from traditional asset management fell due to the fall of market values.
Advium made an excellent result
The low interest rates and good availability of financing have maintained a high activity among corporate and real estate transactions. During the three-month period, Advium acted as advisor in five finalised transactions and in two transactions that are likely to be finalised during the second quarter. In addition, Advium has acted as advisor in one transaction after the period under review. Advium acted, for instance, as advisor to Atine Group Oy, as it sold 100% of the share capital of Turvatiimi to the Norwegian company Sector Alarm. Advium also acted as advisor to Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Company as it sold six office properties in the Helsinki metropolitan region to funds managed by NIAM. As a result of the large number of transactions, the net revenue of Advium more than tripled to EUR 3.0 million and the operating profit grew to EUR 1.6 million (EUR 0.3 million from 1 Jan. to 31 March 2015).
The result of the Investments segment at previous year's level
The net revenue and operating profit of the Investments segment were at the same level as last year, both EUR 0.3 million. The net cash flow from investments of EUR 0.1 million was lower than last year (EUR 1.5 million from 1 Jan. to 31 March 2015). At the end of March, the balance sheet value of the investments was EUR 22.8 million (EUR 22.5 million on 31 December 2015).
***
eQ’s interim report 1 January to 31 March 2016 is enclosed to this release and it will also be available on the company website at www.eQ.fi.
Additional information: Janne Larma, CEO, tel. +358 9 6817 8920
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki, www.eQ.fi, media
eQ Group is a Finnish group of companies specialising in asset management and corporate finance business. eQ Asset Management offers a wide range of asset management services (including private equity funds and real estate asset management) for institutions and individuals. The assets managed by the Group total approximately EUR 7.5 billion. Advium Corporate Finance, which is part of the Group, offers services related to mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions and equity capital markets.
More information about the Group is available on our website at www.eQ.fi.
