Catella AB (publ), Interim report 1 January - 31 March 2011

Catella AB (publ), Interim report 1 January - 31 March 2011

 

First quarter of 2011, january - march

  · Net sales during the first quarter amounted to SEK 138 M (0).
  · Profit for the quarter after tax amounted to SEK -4 M (23).
  · Profit for the quarter per share for total operations amounted to
SEK -0.05 (0.27).
  · During the period, a decision was made to initiate the process of
selling the subsidiary Banque Invik's credit-card and acquiring
operations, or the entire bank. Accordingly, these operations are
recognised as a divestment group held for sale. This means that Banque
Invik's net profit (after tax) is recognised in the consolidated income
statement on a separate line entitled “Profit for the period from
divestment group held for sale.” Correspondingly, the bank's comparative
figures for prior years are recognised in the consolidated income
statement.

 

Significant events after the end of the period

  · Catella acquires the shares of EKF Enskild Kapitalförvaltning AB,
name being changed to Catella Förmögenhetsförvaltning AB.
  · Catella has agreed to acquire 30 per cent of its subsidiary Catella
Capital Intressenter AB.

 

CEO's Comments

For Catella, the start of a financial year is normally a weak earnings
period. Accordingly, a strong fourth quarter of 2010 was followed, as
expected, by weaker profits for the first quarter of 2011.

One explanation is that transaction volumes in Corporate Finance are
always at the lowest at the beginning of a year. Another reason is that
a portion of the performance fees in Catella's other operating segment,
Asset Management, is calculated per full-year and thus not recognised
until the final quarter of the year.

However, 2011 commenced with considerable business momentum and several
structural decisions were made to strengthen Catella's position. The
purpose of the decision to divest Banque Invik's credit card and
acquiring operations, or the entire bank, was to streamline and focus
the operations. The sales process is proceeding according to plan.

The Corporate Finance operating segment handles a large number of
business projects that will generate results later in the year.

For its Asset Management operating segment, Catella recognised lower
management volumes of SEK 3bn during the first quarter, partly as an
effect of certain assignments being discontinued at Catella's initiative
due to weak profitability. At the same time, new fund products were
established that are expected to make positive contributions to
management volumes in the future. All of Catella's Asset Management
units have positive performance expectations for 2011.

Furthermore, we established a new operation in the market for
fixed-income products and acquired operations aimed at consolidating
Catella's role as a wealth manager. These activities and several of the
other initiatives undertaken during the first quarter of the year are
presented in greater detail in Catella's Annual Report for the 2010
financial year.

Johan Ericsson, CEO Catella

For more information, please contact:
Johan Ericsson
Chief Executive Officer, Catella
46 8 463 33 10

Press contact:
Anne Rådestad
Head of Communications, Catella
46 8 463 34 29, 46 73 654 74 50