GBL Gamco Investors Inc

• AUM of $41.3 billion, up 5.2% year over year
• Pretax profits of $37.4 million
• Second Quarter Earnings of $0.76 per diluted share

GAMCO Investors, Inc. (“GAMCO”) (NYSE:GBL) today reported financial results for the second quarter including revenues of $87.6 million, net income of $22.9 million and earnings of $0.76 per diluted share.

  Financial Highlights   Second Quarter     YTD   ($'s in 000's except AUM and per share data) 2017     2016 2017     2016   AUM - end of period (in millions) $ 41,310 $ 39,273 $ 41,310 $ 39,273 AUM - average (in millions) 41,489 38,888 41,063 38,143                                   GAAP Revenues 87,600 83,944 173,517 165,329   Income before income taxes 37,448 44,184 77,568 86,311 Effective tax rate 38.9 % 37.7 % 38.5 % 37.9 %   Net income 22,894 27,543 47,714 53,568   Net income per fully diluted share   $ 0.76       $ 0.93       $ 1.58       $ 1.82                                       Non-GAAP Adjusted income before income taxes 33,373 31,138 65,368 60,654 Adjusted effective tax rate 38.1 % 37.7 % 38.1 % 37.9 %   Adjusted net income 20,657 19,413 40,450 37,647   Adjusted net income per fully diluted share   $ 0.69       $ 0.66       $ 1.35       $ 1.28       Weighted average diluted shares outstanding 31,100 29,522 31,130 29,510   Shares outstanding at June 30 29,301 29,774 29,301 29,774   See the reconciliation to the comparable U.S. GAAP measures starting on page 10.  

Assets Under Management

    June 30,   June 30, 2017 2016 Equities: Open-end Funds $ 13,574 $ 13,981 Closed-end Funds 7,359 6,917 Institutional & PWM - direct (a) 13,437 13,326 Institutional & PWM - sub-advisory 5,048 3,459 SICAV   50   40 Total Equities   39,468   37,723 Fixed Income: Money-Market Fund 1,813 1,518 Institutional & PWM   29   32 Total Fixed Income   1,842   1,550 Total Assets Under Management $ 41,310 $ 39,273 (a)   Includes $300 million and $307 million of Money Market Fund AUM at June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016, respectively.  

Our second quarter 2017 AUM, while up 5.2% from the prior year was essentially unchanged from the $41.4 billion at March 31, 2017. Net outflows of $0.6 billion and distributions of $0.1 billion were offset by market appreciation of $0.7 billion.

Average AUM were $41.5 billion for the second quarter of 2017 versus $40.6 billion for the first quarter of 2017 and $38.9 billion for the second quarter of 2016.

Revenues

• Total revenues for the second quarter of 2017 were $87.6 million, compared with $83.9 million in the prior year.
• Investment advisory fees were $76.6 million in the second quarter of 2017 versus $72.8 million in the second quarter of 2016. Revenues from our open-end and closed-end funds tracked our average AUM in the funds and were $49.2 million in the second quarter of 2017, an increase from the $47.0 million in the year ago quarter. Institutional and Private Wealth Management accounted for $26.4 million of the revenues in 2017 versus $25.2 million in 2016. SICAV revenues increased to $1.0 million in 2017 from $0.6 million in 2016.
• Distribution fees from our open-end equity funds and other income were $11.0 million for the second quarter 2017, versus the $11.2 million in the prior year quarter.

Operating Income – Second Quarter – Operating margin 45.3% vs. 55.7%

Operating income, which is net of management fee expense, was $39.7 million in the second quarter of 2017 versus $46.7 million in the prior year period. During the second quarter of 2017, we recorded an additional $3.7 million of stock compensation expense relating to the accelerated vesting of all the outstanding RSAs that were issued by Associated Capital Group, Inc. (“AC”) at the time of the spin-off from GAMCO. This expense related to GAMCO teammates who held these AC RSAs. There will be no further expense related to AC RSAs recorded after the second quarter of 2017; however, there will continue to be expense related to the outstanding GBL RSAs.

As previously disclosed, the Company has deferred the cash compensation of the Chief Executive Officer relating to all of 2016 (“2016 DCCA”) and the first half of 2017 (“2017 DCCA”) to provide the Company with flexibility to pay down debt. We have made substantial progress toward this objective, having reduced our debt since the November 2015 spin-off of AC, resulting in Standard & Poor’s recent revision of its outlook to stable from negative and reaffirmation of our debt rating of BBB-.

Absent the cash compensation deferrals, we would have recorded $7.4 million and $13.0 million of additional expenses in the second quarters of 2017 and 2016, respectively. In total, there is $67.5 million of deferred cash compensation that has not been recorded yet but will be in the remainder of 2017, 2018 and 2019 in accordance with GAAP.

Operating income before management fee was $42.0 million in the second quarter 2017 versus $47.9 million in the second quarter 2016. Operating margin before management fee was 48.0% versus 57.0% in the second quarter of 2016.

See supplemental information and notes to non-GAAP measures on pages 8 and 10 for further information regarding non-GAAP measures.

Other expense

We recognized $2.2 million in net other expenses in the 2017 second quarter versus net other expenses of $2.6 million in the second quarter of 2016. Interest expense decreased by $0.5 million year over year reflecting lower debt outstanding of $214.0 million at June 30, 2017 versus $274.1 million at June 30, 2016. Investment income for 2017 was $0.5 million vs. $0.6 million in 2016.

Income Taxes

The Company’s effective tax rate (“ETR”) for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 was 38.9% versus 37.7% for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.

Business and Investment Highlights

• On July 10, 2017, Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook on GAMCO to stable from negative and reaffirmed its BBB- rating.

Balance Sheet

We ended the quarter with cash of $90.4 million and investments of $35.2 million and gross debt of $214.0 million (excluding deferred cash compensation of $105.5 million). 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 June 30, 2017, we repurchased 33,410 shares at an average price of $28.80 per share for a total investment of $1.0 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, $489.8 million in the form of dividends and $443.6 million through stock buybacks of 10,060,160 shares.

On August 3, 2017, GAMCO’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share payable on September 26, 2017 to its Class A and Class B shareholders of record on September 12, 2017.

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).

The Company reported Assets Under Management as follows (in millions):

  Table I: Fund Flows - 2nd Quarter 2017         Fund   Market distributions, March 31, appreciation/ Net cash net of June 30, 2017 (depreciation) flows reinvestments 2017 Equities: Open-end Funds $ 13,708 $ 215 $ (339 ) $ (10 ) $ 13,574 Closed-end Funds 7,315 172 (10 ) (118 ) 7,359 Institutional & PWM - direct 13,492 234 (289 ) - 13,437 Institutional & PWM - sub-advisory 5,019 80 (51 ) - 5,048 SICAV   49   2   (1 )   -     50 Total Equities   39,583   703   (690 )   (128 )   39,468 Fixed Income: Money-Market Fund 1,752 4 57 - 1,813 Institutional & PWM   34   -   (5 )   -     29 Total Fixed Income   1,786   4   52     -     1,842 Total Assets Under Management $ 41,369 $ 707 $ (638 ) $ (128 ) $ 41,310     Table II: Fund Flows - Year to date June 2017         Fund   Market distributions, December 31, appreciation/ Net cash net of June 30, 2016 (depreciation) flows reinvestments 2017 Equities: Open-end Funds $ 13,462 $ 837 $ (704 ) $ (21 ) $ 13,574 Closed-end Funds 7,150 463 (14 ) (240 ) 7,359 Institutional & PWM - direct 13,441 910 (914 ) - 13,437 Institutional & PWM - sub-advisory 3,783 154 1,111 (a) - 5,048 SICAV   50   4   (4 )   -     50 Total Equities   37,886   2,368   (525 )   (261 )   39,468 Fixed Income: Money-Market Fund 1,767 5 41 - 1,813 Institutional & PWM   31   -   (2 )   -     29 Total Fixed Income   1,798   5   39     -     1,842 Total Assets Under Management $ 39,684 $ 2,373 $ (486 ) $ (261 ) $ 41,310 (a)   Includes $1.2 billion from being approved as the sub-advisor on two sub-advisory entities as of February 27, 2017.     Table III   GAMCO INVESTORS, INC. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)     For the Quarter Ended June 30, 2017   2016   Investment advisory and incentive fees $ 76,625 $ 72,794 Distribution fees and other income   10,975     11,150   Total revenues 87,600 83,944   Compensation costs 29,437 20,623 Distribution costs 10,795 10,501 Other operating expenses   5,352     4,940   Total expenses 45,584 36,064   Operating income before management fee 42,016 47,880   Investment income 537 605 Interest expense   (2,749 )   (3,168 ) Other expense, net   (2,212 )   (2,563 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 39,804 45,317 Management fee expense   2,356     1,133   Income before income taxes 37,448 44,184 Income tax expense   14,554     16,641   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 22,894   $ 27,543     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic $ 0.79   $ 0.94     Diluted $ 0.76   $ 0.93     Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic   28,896     29,234     Diluted   31,100     29,522     Actual shares outstanding (a)   29,301     29,774   Notes: (a)   Includes 420,240 and 549,700 of RSAs, respectively. See GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation on page 8.     Table IV   GAMCO INVESTORS, INC. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)     For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2017   2016   Investment advisory and incentive fees $ 151,614 $ 143,642 Distribution fees and other income   21,903     21,687   Total revenues 173,517 165,329   Compensation costs 54,715 40,897 Distribution costs 21,708 21,218 Other operating expenses   10,471     9,312   Total expenses 86,894 71,427   Operating income before management fee 86,623 93,902   Investment income 1,046 1,196 Interest expense   (5,581 )   (6,574 ) Other expense, net   (4,535 )   (5,378 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 82,088 88,524 Management fee expense   4,520     2,213   Income before income taxes 77,568 86,311 Income tax expense   29,854     32,743   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 47,714   $ 53,568     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic $ 1.65   $ 1.83     Diluted $ 1.58   $ 1.82     Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic   28,933     29,241     Diluted   31,130     29,510     Actual shares outstanding (a)   29,301     29,774   Notes: (a)   Includes 420,240 and 549,700 of RSAs, respectively. See GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation on page 8.     Table V GAMCO INVESTORS, INC. UNAUDITED QUARTERLY CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)     2017   2016 1st   2nd   1st   2nd   3rd   4th   Quarter Quarter Full Year Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter Full Year Income Statement Data:   Revenues $ 85,917 $ 87,600 $ 173,517 $ 81,385 $ 83,944 $ 87,721 $ 99,950 $ 353,000   Expenses   41,310     45,584     86,894     35,363     36,064     38,482     44,777     154,686     Operating income before management fee 44,607 42,016 86,623 46,022 47,880 49,239 55,173 198,314   Investment income 509 537 1,046 591 605 426 1,483 3,105 Interest expense   (2,832 )   (2,749 )   (5,581 )   (3,406 )   (3,168 )   (3,155 )   (2,945 )   (12,674 ) Other expense, net (2,323 ) (2,212 ) (4,535 ) (2,815 ) (2,563 ) (2,729 ) (1,462 ) (9,569 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 42,284 39,804 82,088 43,207 45,317 46,510 53,711 188,745 Management fee expense   2,164     2,356     4,520     1,080     1,133     1,163     3,142     6,518   Income before income taxes 40,120 37,448 77,568 42,127 44,184 45,347 50,569 182,227 Income tax expense   15,300     14,554     29,854     16,102     16,641     14,486     17,877     65,106   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 24,820   $ 22,894   $ 47,714   $ 26,025   $ 27,543   $ 30,861   $ 32,692   $ 117,121     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic $ 0.86   $ 0.79   $ 1.65   $ 0.89   $ 0.94   $ 1.06   $ 1.12   $ 4.01     Diluted $ 0.82   $ 0.76   $ 1.58   $ 0.88   $ 0.93   $ 1.03   $ 1.07   $ 3.92     Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic   28,970     28,896     28,933     29,247     29,234     29,185     29,062     29,182     Diluted   31,160     31,100     31,130     29,684     29,522     30,406     31,241     30,170     Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP: Operating income before management fee 44,607 42,016 86,623 46,022 47,880 49,239 55,173 198,314 Deduct: management fee expense   2,164     2,356     4,520     1,080     1,133     1,163     3,142     6,518   Operating income $ 42,443   $ 39,660   $ 82,103   $ 44,942   $ 46,747   $ 48,076   $ 52,031   $ 191,796     Operating margin before management fee   51.9 %   48.0 %   49.9 %   56.5 %   57.0 %   56.1 %   55.2 %   56.2 % Operating margin after management fee   49.4 %   45.3 %   47.3 %   55.2 %   55.7 %   54.8 %   52.1 %   54.3 %   Notes on Non-GAAP Financial Measures:

Operating income before management fee 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.

    Table VI GAMCO INVESTORS, INC. UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION (Dollars in thousands, except per share data)       June 30, December 31, June 30, 2017 2016 2016   ASSETS   Cash and cash equivalents $ 90,405 $ 39,812 $ 24,224 Investments 35,225 37,285 32,079 Receivable from brokers 843 453 230 Other receivables 33,707 50,756 31,811 Income tax receivable and deferred tax asset 19,361 9,349 11,905 Other assets   11,390     11,574     13,665     Total assets $ 190,931   $ 149,229   $ 113,914     LIABILITIES AND EQUITY   Payable to brokers $ 4,670 $ 66 $ 45 Income taxes payable and deferred tax liabilities 3,486 3,815 822 Compensation payable (a) 53,642 42,384 25,592 Accrued expenses and other liabilities   36,186     35,656     36,829   Sub-total 97,984 81,921 63,288   5.875% Senior notes (due June 1, 2021) 24,132 24,120 24,109 4.5% Convertible note (due August 15, 2021) 109,853 109,835 - 4% PIK note (due November 30, 2020)   80,000     100,000     250,000   Total debt   213,985     233,955     274,109   Total liabilities 311,969 315,876 337,397   GAMCO Investors, Inc.'s stockholders' deficit   (121,038 )   (166,647 )   (223,483 )   Total liabilities and equity $ 190,931   $ 149,229   $ 113,914   (a)   Excludes $67.5 million of DCCA expense that is not yet recorded under GAAP.  

Non-GAAP information and reconciliation:

GAMCO’s non-GAAP measures include adjusted income before taxes, adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per fully diluted share. GAMCO’s calculation of these non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies due to potential differences between companies in the method of calculation. As a result, the use of these non-GAAP measures has limitations and should not be considered superior to, in isolation from, or a substitute for, related U.S. GAAP measures.

These non-GAAP measures allow management and investors to view operating trends, perform analytical comparisons and benchmark performance between periods to understand operating performance without regard to items that we do not consider to be a component of our core operating performance. Management uses these measures in its financial, investment and operational decision-making processes, for internal reporting and as part of its forecasting and budgeting processes. For these reasons we believe these non-GAAP measures are useful for our investors.

Adjusted income before taxes, adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per fully diluted share can be used by investors to review our results on a consistent basis. Examples of adjustments to these measures include the GAAP impact of the 2016 DCCA and 2017 DCCA that were put in place to enable the Company to more quickly pay down its debt as well as the acceleration of outstanding RSAs by AC.

The following tables reconcile adjusted income before taxes, adjusted effective tax rate, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per share to their closest GAAP equivalent:

    For the three months ended June 30, 2017         Impact of Reported Impact of Impact of AC RSA GAAP 2017 DCCA 2016 DCCA Acceleration Non-GAAP   Total revenues $ 87,600 $ - $ - $ - $ 87,600   Compensation costs 29,437 9,666 (3,260 ) (3,683 ) 32,160 Distribution costs 10,795 - - - 10,795 Other operating expenses   5,352     -     -     -     5,352   Total expenses 45,584 9,666 (3,260 ) (3,683 ) 48,307   Operating income before management fee 42,016 (9,666 ) 3,260 3,683 39,293   Other expense, net (2,212 ) - - - (2,212 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 39,804 (9,666 ) 3,260 3,683 37,081 Management fee expense   2,356     1,688     (704 )   368     3,708   Income before income taxes 37,448 (11,354 ) 3,964 3,315 33,373 Income tax expense   14,554     (4,413 )   1,541     1,034     12,716   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 22,894   $ (6,941 ) $ 2,423   $ 2,281   $ 20,657     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic $ 0.79   $ (0.24 ) $ 0.08   $ 0.08   $ 0.71   Diluted $ 0.76   $ (0.22 ) $ 0.08   $ 0.07   $ 0.69         For the three months ended June 30, 2016 Reported   Impact of   GAAP 2016 DCCA Non-GAAP   Total revenues $ 83,944 $ - $ 83,944   Compensation costs 20,623 10,719 31,342 Distribution costs 10,501 - 10,501 Other operating expenses   4,940     -     4,940   Total expenses 36,064 10,719 46,783   Operating income before management fee 47,880 (10,719 ) 37,161   Other expense, net (2,563 ) - (2,563 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 45,317 (10,719 ) 34,598 Management fee expense   1,133     2,327     3,460   Income before income taxes 44,184 (13,046 ) 31,138 Income tax expense   16,641     (4,916 )   11,725   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 27,543   $ (8,130 ) $ 19,413     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic $ 0.94   $ (0.28 ) $ 0.66   Diluted $ 0.93   $ (0.28 ) $ 0.66         For the six months ended June 30, 2017         Impact of Reported Impact of Impact of AC RSA GAAP 2017 DCCA 2016 DCCA Acceleration Non-GAAP   Total revenues $ 173,517 $ - $ - $ - $ 173,517   Compensation costs 54,715 19,206 (5,759 ) (3,683 ) 64,479 Distribution costs 21,708 - - - 21,708 Other operating expenses   10,471     -     -     -     10,471   Total expenses 86,894 19,206 (5,759 ) (3,683 ) 96,658   Operating income before management fee 86,623 (19,206 ) 5,759 3,683 76,859   Other expense, net (4,535 ) - - - (4,535 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 82,088 (19,206 ) 5,759 3,683 72,324 Management fee expense   4,520     3,552     (1,484 )   368     6,956   Income before income taxes 77,568 (22,758 ) 7,243 3,315 65,368 Income tax expense   29,854     (8,761 )   2,791     1,034     24,918   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 47,714   $ (13,997 ) $ 4,452   $ 2,281   $ 40,450     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic $ 1.65   $ (0.48 ) $ 0.15   $ 0.08   $ 1.40   Diluted $ 1.58   $ (0.45 ) $ 0.14   $ 0.07   $ 1.35         For the six months ended June 30, 2016 Reported   Impact of   GAAP 2016 DCCA Non-GAAP   Total revenues $ 165,329 $ - $ 165,329   Compensation costs 40,897 21,131 62,028 Distribution costs 21,218 - 21,218 Other operating expenses   9,312     -     9,312   Total expenses 71,427 21,131 92,558   Operating income before management fee 93,902 (21,131 ) 72,771   Other expense, net (5,378 ) - (5,378 )   Income before management fee and income taxes 88,524 (21,131 ) 67,393 Management fee expense   2,213     4,526     6,739   Income before income taxes 86,311 (25,657 ) 60,654 Income tax expense   32,743     (9,736 )   23,007   Net income attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc. $ 53,568   $ (15,921 ) $ 37,647     Net income per share attributable to GAMCO Investors, Inc.: Basic $ 1.83   $ (0.54 ) $ 1.29   Diluted $ 1.82   $ (0.54 ) $ 1.28    

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 Investors, Inc.Kieran Caterina or Diane M. LaPointe914-921-5149 or 7763SVPs and Co-Chief Accounting OfficersorFor further information please visitwww.gabelli.com