GBL Gamco Investors Inc

• First Quarter Earnings of $0.88 per diluted share vs. $0.91
• Average AUM at $37.5 billion

GAMCO Investors, Inc. (“GAMCO” or the “Company”) (NYSE: GBL) today reported financial results for the first quarter including revenues of $81.4 million, net income of $26.0 million and earnings of $0.88 per diluted share. On a comparable continuing operations basis, revenues were $99.8 million, net income was $23.1 million, and earnings were $0.91 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2015.

  Financial Highlights         Q1 Q1 ($'s in 000's except AUM and per share data) 2016 (a) 2015 (b)   AUM - end of period (in millions) $ 38,721 $ 45,507 AUM - average (in millions) 37,542 45,756   Revenues 81,385 99,806   Operating income before management fee (c) 46,022 42,725 Operating margin before management fee 56.5 % 42.8 %   Operating income 44,942 38,590 Operating margin 55.2 % 38.7 %   Other expense, net (2,815 ) (1,364 )   Income before income taxes 42,127 37,226 Effective tax rate 38.2 % 37.8 %   Income from continuing operations 26,025 23,148   Income per share - continuing operations $ 0.88 $ 0.91   Income from discontinued operations - 1,628   Discontinued operations per share - $ 0.06   Net income 26,025 24,776   Net income per share $ 0.88 $ 0.97   Shares outstanding at March 31 (d)     29,790           25,810      

(a)

 

See page 3 for discussion of deferred compensation impact.

(b)

Adjusted for spin-off of AC.

(c)

See GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation on page 10.

(d)

Shares outstanding consist of 29,237 non-RSA shares and 553 RSA shares at March 31, 2016 and 25,103 non-RSA shares and 707 RSA shares at March 31, 2015.

 

Assets Under Management

          % Change From March 31, December 31, March 31, December 31, March 31, 2016 2015 2015 2015 2015 Equities: Open-end Funds $ 13,807 $ 13,811 $ 16,643 (0.0 %) (17.0 %) Closed-end Funds 6,663 6,492 7,071 2.6 (5.8 ) Institutional & PWM - direct 13,280 13,366 16,407 (0.6 ) (19.1 ) Institutional & PWM - sub-advisory 3,427 3,401 3,814 0.8 (10.1 ) SICAV   38   37   - 2.7 n/m Total Equities   37,215   37,107   43,935 0.3 (15.3 ) Fixed Income: Money-Market Fund 1,474 1,514 1,520 (2.6 ) (3.0 ) Institutional & PWM   32   38   52 (15.8 ) (38.5 ) Total Fixed Income   1,506   1,552   1,572 (3.0 ) (4.2 ) Total Assets Under Management $ 38,721 $ 38,659 $ 45,507 0.2 (14.9 )

Average AUM were $37.5 billion for the first quarter of 2016 versus $40.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2015 and $45.8 billion for the first quarter of 2015.

Our first quarter 2016 increase in AUM versus December 31, 2015 was due to market appreciation of $1.0 billion partially offset by net outflows of $0.8 billion and net distributions of $0.1 billion.

Revenues

• Total revenues for the first quarter of 2016 were $81.4 million, compared with $99.8 million in the prior year, reflecting fees earned in investment advisory services on a lower level of assets and a decline in distribution and other income.
• Investment advisory fees were $70.8 million in the first quarter of 2016 versus $86.1 million in the first quarter of 2015. Revenues from our open-end and closed-end funds and Institutional and Private Wealth Management accounts tracked our decline of average AUM in the open-end and closed-end funds as well as lower billable assets in our Institutional and Private Wealth Management accounts.
• Distribution fees from our open-end equity funds and other income were $10.5 million for the first quarter 2016, down from $13.7 million in the prior year quarter.

Operating Income – First Quarter – Operating margin 56.5% vs. 42.8%

Operating income, which is net of management fee expense, increased 16.3% or $6.3 million, to $44.9 million in the first quarter of 2016 versus $38.6 million in the prior year period. The first quarter of 2016 was impacted by lower revenues of $18.4 million offset by reduced variable compensation expense of $10.4 million due to the accounting for the RSU agreement that the Company entered into with Mr. Gabelli in December 2015 while first quarter 2015 included a $1.0 million charge to launch a closed-end fund and $603,000 in incremental RSA expenses. After adjusting for removal of these non-recurring items in both the 2016 and 2015 periods, operating income was $34.5 million in the first quarter of 2016 or $5.7 million lower than the $40.2 million of the comparable prior year period. On the same basis, operating margin improved from 40.3% to 42.4%. See Notes to Non-GAAP measures on pages 7 for further information.

Operating income before management fee was $46.0 million in the first quarter 2016 versus $42.7 million in the first quarter 2015. Operating margin before management fee was 56.5% versus 42.8% in the first quarter of 2015. After adjusting for the removal of the non-recurring items in both the 2016 and 2015 periods, operating income before management fee was $35.6 million in the first quarter of 2016 as compared to $44.3 million in the first quarter of 2015 while operating margins before management fee declined from 44.4% to 43.8%. See Notes on Non-GAAP measures on page 7 for further information. Management believes evaluating operating income before management fee is an important measure in analyzing the Company’s operating results. Further information regarding Non-GAAP measures is included in Notes on Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Table III included elsewhere herein.

Other expense

We recognized $2.8 million in net other expenses in the 2016 quarter versus an expense of $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2015. This is comprised of investment income of $0.6 million in the 2016 quarter versus $0.5 million in the 2015 quarter offset by interest expense of $3.4 million in the 2016 quarter versus $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2015, reflective of the AC 4% PIK Note being outstanding for the entire first quarter of 2016 partially offset by the reduction in the Senior Notes.

Income Taxes

The Company’s effective tax rate (“ETR”) for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 was 38.2% versus 37.8% for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.

Deferred compensation

The first quarter 2016 results were materially bolstered by the GAAP-mandated treatment of the December 2015 deferred compensation agreement whereby certain variable compensation for 2016 will be paid in the form of Restricted Stock Units determined by the volume-weighted average price of the Company’s Class A Stock during 2016. Margins for the first quarter 2016 therefore are not comparable with prior periods. Under GAAP, only 25% of this deferred compensation expense is being recognized in the current year with the remainder amortized as expense in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Expressed another way, the 2016 first quarter as well as the remainder of 2016 benefit from a reduction of 75% of the compensation, and 2017, 2018, and 2019 will, in turn, be impacted by an additional 25% of the compensation from 2016 in each year. The Board’s decision to grant these RSUs in December 2015 and thereby defer the cash payment of certain 2016 variable compensation until January 1, 2020 was to provide the Company with greater financial flexibility. No decision has been made regarding whether the RSU will be repeated for 2017.

The balance sheet is also impacted; the compensation payable at March 31, 2016 and in each future period-end of 2016 is only 25% of the full amount of the 2016 compensation that will be due once the RSUs are fully vested. At March 31, 2016, the amount of unrecognized compensation was $12.6 million.

The following tables show a reconciliation of our results for the first quarter of 2016 and our balance sheet at March 31, 2016 between the GAAP basis and a non-GAAP adjusted basis of the deferred compensation (the RSU grant) in 2016. We believe this adjusted measure is useful in evaluating the ongoing operating results of the Company absent the material adjustment related to the treatment of the deferred compensation agreement.

  For the three months ended March 31, 2016   Impact of   Reported Deferred GAAP Compensation Non-GAAP   Total revenues $ 81,385 $ - $ 81,385   Compensation costs 20,274 10,412 30,686 Distribution costs 10,717 - 10,717 Other operating expenses   4,372     -     4,372   Total expenses 35,363 10,412 45,775   Operating income before management fee 46,022 (10,412 ) 35,610   Other expense, net (2,815 ) - (2,815 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 43,207 (10,412 ) 32,795 Management fee expense   1,080     2,199     3,279   Income before income taxes 42,127 (12,611 ) 29,516 Income tax expense   16,102     (4,820 )   11,282   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 26,025   $ (7,791 ) $ 18,234     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic $ 0.89   $ (0.27 ) $ 0.62   Diluted $ 0.88   $ (0.26 ) $ 0.61       March 31, 2016   Impact of   Reported Deferred GAAP Compensation Non-GAAP   ASSETS   Total assets $ 115,925   $ -   $ 115,925     LIABILITIES AND EQUITY   Income taxes payable and deferred tax liabilities $ 13,032 $ (4,820 ) $ 8,212 Compensation payable 19,218 12,611 31,829 Accrued expenses and other liabilities   37,775     -     37,775   Sub-total 70,025 7,791 77,816   5.875% Senior notes (due June 1, 2021) 24,103 - 24,103 4% PIK note (due November 30, 2020) 250,000 - 250,000 Loan from GGCP (due December 28, 2016)   20,000     -     20,000   Total debt   294,103     -     294,103   Total liabilities 364,128 7,791 371,919   GAMCO Investors, Inc.'s stockholders' equity (deficit)   (248,203 )   (7,791 )   (255,994 )   Total liabilities and equity $ 115,925   $ -   $ 115,925    

The following table further illustrates the effect that the GAAP accounting for the compensation deferral will have on our results for 2016 through 2019 under certain assumptions. For simplicity in arriving at the 2016 through 2019 illustrative effects, we have assumed that the first quarter RSU expense is predictive of the full year results but there is no assurance that this will be the case. Please see the note regarding forward-looking information on page 12 of this release.

Effect of recording RSU on a GAAP basis:

  2016    

2017

   

2018

   

2019

                RSU expense (50,444 ) 16,815 16,815 16,815  

Business and Investment Highlights

• On March 31, 2016, Gabelli Equity Trust completed the offering of $80 million of 5.45% Series J Cumulative Preferred Stock. The preferred stock is perpetual, non-callable for five years, and was issued at $25 per share.

Balance Sheet

We ended the quarter with cash and investments of $64.5 million and debt of $294.1 million. During the first quarter of 2016 we paid down $15 million of the loan to GGCP. We have $500 million available on our universal shelf registration. Together with earnings from operations, the shelf provides us with flexibility to do acquisitions, lift-outs, seed new investment strategies, and co-invest, as well as to fund shareholder compensation, including share repurchases and dividends.

Shareholder Compensation

During the quarter ended March 31, 2016, we returned $1.5 million of our earnings to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases. We repurchased 30,503 shares at an average price of $29.42 per share for a total investment of $0.9 million and distributed $0.6 million in dividends. Since our IPO, in February 1999, we have returned $1.9 billion in total to shareholders comprised of $1.0 billion of spin-offs, $487 million in the form of dividends and $429 million through stock buybacks of 9,583,156 shares.

On May 3, 2016, GAMCO’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share payable on June 28, 2016 to its Class A and Class B shareholders of record on June 14, 2016.

About GAMCO Investors, Inc.

GAMCO Investors, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manages private advisory accounts (GAMCO Asset Management Inc.) and open-end funds and closed-end funds (Gabelli Funds, LLC).

NOTES ON NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

A.

  Operating income before management fee expense is used by management to evaluate its business operations. We believe this measure is useful in illustrating the operating results of GAMCO Investors, Inc. (the “Company”) as management fee expense is based on pre-tax income before management fee expense, which includes non-operating items including investment gains and losses from the Company’s proprietary investment portfolio and interest expense. The reconciliation of operating income before management fee expense to operating income is provided in Table III.  

B.

Adjusted operating income and adjusted operating income before management fee expense are used by management to evaluate its ongoing business operations. We believe these measures are useful in evaluating the ongoing operating results of the Company absent any of these adjustments.

  1st Quarter 2016   2015 Operating income before management fee $ 46,022 $ 42,725 Adjustments: Add back: Incremental RSA expense - 603 Costs to launch Closed-end fund - 1,000 Deduct: Variable compensation reduction from RSU   (10,412 )   -   Adjusted operating income before management fee   35,610     44,328  

Adjusted operating margin before management fee

 

43.8%

 

 

44.4%

 

  1st Quarter 2016 2015 Operating income $ 44,942 $ 38,590 Adjustments: Add back: Incremental RSA expense - 603 Costs to launch Closed-end fund - 1,000 Deduct: Variable compensation reduction from RSU   (10,412 )   -   Adjusted operating income   34,530     40,193   Adjusted operating margin  

42.4%

 

 

40.3%

 

The Company reported Assets Under Management as follows (in millions):           Table I: Fund Flows - 1st Quarter 2016 Fund Market distributions, December 31, appreciation/ Net cash net of March 31, 2015 (depreciation) flows reinvestments 2016 Equities: Open-end Funds $ 13,811 $ 465 $ (458) $ (11) $ 13,807 Closed-end Funds 6,492 213 70 (112) 6,663 Institutional & PWM - direct 13,366 241 (327) - 13,280 Institutional & PWM - sub-advisory 3,401 67 (41) - 3,427 SICAV   37   1   -   -   38 Total Equities   37,107   987   (756)   (123)   37,215 Fixed Income: Money-Market Fund 1,514 - (40) - 1,474 Institutional & PWM   38   -   (6)   -   32 Total Fixed Income   1,552   -   (46)   -   1,506 Total Assets Under Management $ 38,659 $ 987 $ (802) $ (123) $ 38,721 Table II     GAMCO INVESTORS, INC. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)   For the Quarter Ended March 31,   2016 2015   Investment advisory and incentive fees $ 70,848 $ 86,068 Distribution fees and other income   10,537     13,738   Total revenues 81,385 99,806   Compensation costs 20,274 37,977 Distribution costs 10,717 14,441 Other operating expenses   4,372     4,663   Total expenses 35,363 57,081   Operating income before management fee 46,022 42,725   Investment income 591 541 Interest expense   (3,406 )   (1,905 ) Other expense, net   (2,815 )   (1,364 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 43,207 41,361 Management fee expense   1,080     4,135   Income before income taxes 42,127 37,226 Income tax expense   16,102     14,078   Income from continuing operations 26,025 23,148 Income from discontinued operations, net of taxes   -     1,628   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 26,025   $ 24,776     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic - Continuing operations $ 0.89 $ 0.92 Basic - Discontinued operations   -     0.07   Basic - Total $ 0.89   $ 0.99     Diluted - Continuing operations $ 0.88 $ 0.91 Diluted - Discontinued operations   -     0.06   Diluted - Total $ 0.88   $ 0.97     Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic   29,247     25,132     Diluted   29,684     25,414     Actual shares outstanding (a)   29,790     25,810     Notes: (a) Includes 553,100 and 707,050 of RSAs, respectively. See GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation on page 8. Table III GAMCO INVESTORS, INC. UNAUDITED QUARTERLY CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)             2016 2015 1st 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter Full Year Income Statement Data:   Revenues $ 81,385 $ 99,806 $ 98,693 $ 92,160 $ 90,317 $ 380,976   Expenses   35,363     57,081     55,518     50,828     54,097     217,524     Operating income before management fee 46,022 42,725 43,175 41,332 36,220 163,452   Investment income 591 541 638 625 4,304 6,108 Interest expense (3,406 ) (1,905 ) (1,855 ) (1,815 ) (3,061 ) (8,636 ) Shareholder-designated contribution   -     -     -     -     (6,396 )   (6,396 ) Other expense, net (2,815 ) (1,364 ) (1,217 ) (1,190 ) (5,153 ) (8,924 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 43,207 41,361 41,958 40,142 31,067 154,528 Management fee expense   1,080     4,135     4,194     4,056     3,118     15,503   Income before income taxes 42,127 37,226 37,764 36,086 27,949 139,025 Income tax expense   16,102     14,078     13,989     13,635     10,024     51,726   Income from continuing operations 26,025 23,148 23,775 22,451 17,925 87,299 Income/(loss) from discontinued operations, net of taxes   -     1,628     326     (7,483 )   1,642     (3,887 ) Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 26,025   $ 24,776   $ 24,101   $ 14,968   $ 19,567   $ 83,412     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic - Continuing operations $ 0.89 $ 0.92 $ 0.95 $ 0.90 $ 0.68 $ 3.43 Basic - Discontinued operations   -     0.07     0.01     (0.30 )   0.06     (0.15 ) Basic - Total $ 0.89   $ 0.99   $ 0.96   $ 0.60   $ 0.74   $ 3.28     Diluted - Continuing operations $ 0.88 $ 0.91 $ 0.94 $ 0.89 $ 0.67 $ 3.40 Diluted - Discontinued operations   -     0.06     0.01     (0.30 )   0.06     (0.15 ) Diluted - Total $ 0.88   $ 0.97   $ 0.95   $ 0.59   $ 0.73   $ 3.24     Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic   29,247     25,132     25,065     24,947     26,547     25,425     Diluted   29,684     25,414     25,358     25,241     26,813     25,711   Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP: Operating income before management fee 46,022 42,725 43,175 41,332 36,220 163,452 Deduct: management fee expense   1,080     4,135     4,194     4,056     3,118     15,503   Operating income $ 44,942   $ 38,590   $ 38,981   $ 37,276   $ 33,102   $ 147,949     Operating margin before management fee   56.5 %   42.8 %   43.7 %   44.8 %   40.1 %   42.9 % Operating margin after management fee   55.2 %   38.7 %   39.5 %   40.4 %   36.7 %   38.8 % UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)       March 31, December 31, March 31, 2016 2015 2015   ASSETS   Cash and cash equivalents $ 28,045 $ 13,719 $ 11,261 Investments 36,422 32,979 37,954 Receivable from brokers 1,135 1,091 2,100 Other receivables 35,961 37,252 61,539 Income tax receivable 2,452 6,787 2,433 Other assets 11,910 12,071 10,755 Assets of discontinued operations   -     -     673,263   Total assets $ 115,925   $ 103,899   $ 799,305   LIABILITIES AND EQUITY   Payable to brokers $ - $ 12 $ 46 Income taxes payable and deferred tax liabilities 13,032 4,823 23,133 Compensation payable 19,218 24,426 38,823 Securities sold short, not yet purchased - 129 - Accrued expenses and other liabilities 37,775 41,739 37,333 Liabilities of discontinued operations   -     -     35,782 Sub-total 70,025 71,129 135,117   5.875% Senior notes (due June 1, 2021) 24,103 24,097 99,398 4% PIK note (due November 30, 2020) 250,000 250,000 - Loan from GGCP (due December 28, 2016) 20,000 35,000 - 0% Subordinated Debentures (due December 31, 2015) (a)   -     -     9,936 Total debt   294,103     309,097     109,334 Total liabilities 364,128 380,226 244,451   Redeemable noncontrolling interests of discontinued operations - - 5,519   GAMCO Investors, Inc.'s stockholders' equity (deficit) (248,203 ) (276,327 ) 546,609 Noncontrolling interests   -     -     2,726 Total equity (deficit)   (248,203 )   (276,327 )   549,335   Total liabilities and equity $ 115,925   $ 103,899   $ 799,305  

(a) The 0% Subordinated Debentures due December 31, 2015 have a face value of $0.0 million, $0.0 million and $10.4 million, respectively.

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

The financial results set forth in this press release are preliminary. Our disclosure and analysis in this press release, which do not present historical information, contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements convey our current expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements because they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” and other words and terms of similar meaning. They also appear in any discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, future performance of our products, expenses, the outcome of any legal proceedings, and financial results. Although we believe that we are basing our expectations and beliefs on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what we currently know about our business and operations, the economy and other conditions, there can be no assurance that our actual results will not differ materially from what we expect or believe. Therefore, you should proceed with caution in relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, some of which are listed below, that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our expectations or beliefs include a decline in the securities markets that adversely affect our assets under management, negative performance of our products, the failure to perform as required under our investment management agreements, a general downturn in the economy that negatively impacts our operations. We also direct your attention to the more specific discussions of these and other risks, uncertainties and other important factors contained in our Form 10-K and other public filings. Other factors that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We do not undertake to update publicly any forward-looking statements if we subsequently learn that we are unlikely to achieve our expectations whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

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GAMCO InvestorsDouglas R. JamiesonPresident and Chief Operating Officer914-921-5020orFor further information please visitwww.gabelli.com