Somers Limited Announces Financial Results
Somers Limited, a financial services investment holding company, announces its results for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.
Commenting on the financial results, Warren McLeland, Chairman of Somers said, “Somers recorded a profit of $1.2 million for the quarter with dividend income and net valuation gains from the investment portfolio offsetting negative currency movements. This profit along with capital received from the exercise of warrants by Utilico Investments Limited in October 2014 resulted in a 0.7% increase in total shareholders’ equity.
“There was little transactional activity during the December quarter as the Company’s capital is currently fully invested. We did however repay all our outstanding loans during the quarter leaving the company 100% unleveraged as at December 31, 2014. We remain comfortable with our current portfolio composition and this allows us to look forward to the remainder of the year with a cautious degree of confidence.”
Company Highlights for the three months ended December 31, 2014:
- Diluted net asset value [“NAV”] per share of $18.80 as at December 31, 2014 [September 30, 2014: $18.96];
- The share price of Somers’ shares increased 3.6% to $14.25, a 24.2% discount to the unaudited December NAV;
- Consolidated net income of $1.2 million for the quarter [December 31, 2013: $8.7 million];
- Diluted earnings per share of $0.11 [December 31, 2013: $0.81]; and
- Shareholders’ equity increased by 0.7% to $216.6 million as at December 31, 2014 [September 30, 2014: $215.1 million].
Investment Highlights for the three months ended December 31, 2014:
- BCB Tier 1 ratio of 25.2%;
- Waverton Investment Management Limited [“Waverton”] reported pre-tax income of £2.2 million;
- Waverton reported Assets under Management [“AuM”] as at December 31, 2014 of $8.4 billion [£5.4 billion]; and
Somers Limited is a listed financial services investment holding company whose major assets include its 100% owned subsidiary, Bermuda Commercial Bank Limited, one of Bermuda’s four licensed banks and a 62.5% holding in Waverton Investment Management Limited, a UK wealth manager with over £5.4 billion assets under management.
The Group’s other investments include an approximate 68% economic interest in the London Stock Exchange listed Private & Commercial Finance Group PLC, a UK asset financing company, an 84.6% stake in Westhouse Holdings PLC, a corporate and institutional stockbroking group, a 30% economic interest in Ascot Lloyd Holdings Limited, a UK independent financial adviser and a 21% economic interest in Merrion Capital Holdings Limited, an Irish financial services group.
