Business & Finance
Business and FinanceBusiness and Finance 
Fri, February 4, 2011
Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. Reports 2010 Results and Increases Quarterly Dividend; Assets Under Management Increase 23% Year-
DALLAS--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE: WHG) today reported 2010 fourth quarter revenues of $15.4 million, net income of $3.3 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.46. This compares to revenues of $12.7 million, net income of $2.7 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.38 in the fourth quarter of 2009. Economic Earnings were $5.7 million compared to $4.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Economic Earnings per share (aEconomic EPSa) were $0.81 per diluted share compared to $0.73 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2009. (Economic Earnings and Economic EPS are non-GAAP performance measures and are explained and reconciled with the most comparable GAAP numbers in the attached tables.)
Assets under management were $12.5 billion as of December 31, 2010, an increase of 23% compared to $10.2 billion as of December 31, 2009. The increase was primarily due to market appreciation of assets under management, the acquisition of McCarthy Group Advisors in November and asset inflows from new and existing clients, partially offset by the withdrawal of assets by certain clients. Mutual fund assets, including five WHG Funds and the McCarthy Multi-Cap Stock Fund, were $970 million as of December 31, 2010, an increase of 71% compared to assets of $566 million as of December 31, 2009. On February 1, 2011, shareholders of the McCarthy Multi-Cap Stock Fund approved the funda™s reorganization into the WHG Dividend Growth Fund (WHGDX).
Brian Casey, Westwooda™s President & CEO, commented, aWestwood achieved a number of important milestones in 2010. We posted the highest levels of assets under management, revenue and net income in our history. We expanded our private wealth franchise with the acquisition of McCarthy Group Advisors and introduced SMidCap Plus+ as an investment alternative to our highly successful SMidCap product, which recently reached its maximum asset capacity. Our WHG Funds continued their strong organic growth and approached $1 billion at year-end. Looking forward, we intend to utilize our stable financial position to reinvest in our business and capitalize on attractive growth opportunities in the marketplace.a
Westwooda™s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per common share, an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, payable on April 1, 2011 to stockholders of record on March 15, 2011.
For the year ended December 31, 2010, Westwood reported revenues of $55.3 million, net income of $11.3 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.58, compared to revenues of $42.6 million, net income of $7.9 million and earnings per diluted share of $1.09 for 2009. Economic Earnings for the year ended December 31, 2010 were $20.8 million compared to $15.6 million for 2009, while Economic EPS for the year ended December 31, 2010 were $3.06 per diluted share compared to $2.45 per diluted share for 2009.
Total expenses for the fourth quarter were $10.3 million compared with $8.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Economic Expenses were $7.9 million compared with $6.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. (An explanation and reconciliation of Economic Expenses to total expenses is included in the attached tables.)
Westwood will host a conference call to discuss fourth quarter 2010 results and other business updates at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time today. To join the conference call, dial 866-337-6663 (domestic) or 904-520-5771 (international). The conference call can also be accessed at [ www.westwoodgroup.com ] under the Investor Relations tab and will be available for replay through February 10 by dialing 888-284-7564 (domestic) or 904-596-3174 (international) and entering passcode 2591331.
About Westwood
Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. manages investment assets and provides services for its clients through two subsidiaries, Westwood Management Corp. and Westwood Trust. Westwood Management Corp. is a registered investment advisor and provides investment advisory services to corporate pension funds, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, the WHG Funds, other mutual funds, individuals and clients of Westwood Trust. Westwood Trust provides trust services and participation in common trust funds that it sponsors to institutions and high net worth individuals. Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol aWHG.a
For more information on Westwood, please visit [ www.westwoodgroup.com ].
For more information on the WHG Funds, please visit [ www.whgfunds.com ].
Note on Forward-looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts, including statements about our expected future financial position, results of operations or cash flows, as well as other statements including words such as aanticipate,a abelieve,a aplan,a aestimate,a aexpect,a aintend,a ashould,a acould,a agoal,a atarget,a adesigned,a aon track,a acomfortable with,a aoptimistica and other similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results and the timing of some events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation: our ability to identify and successfully market services that appeal to our customers; the concentration of our revenues in a small number of our customers; our relationships with investment consulting firms; our relationships with current and potential customers; our ability to retain qualified personnel; our ability to successfully develop and market new asset classes; our ability to maintain our fee structure in light of competitive fee pressures; competition in the marketplace; downturns in the financial markets; the passage of legislation adversely affecting the financial services industries; interest rates; changes in our effective tax rate; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls; and the other risks detailed from time to time in Westwooda™s SEC filings, including but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2010, June 30, 2010 and September 30, 2010. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, Westwood is not obligated to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
| WESTWOOD HOLDINGS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | |||||||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME | |||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share data) | |||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | |||||||||||||
| Three months ended | Year ended | ||||||||||||
| December 31, | December 31, | ||||||||||||
| 2010 | 2009 | 2010 | 2009 | ||||||||||
| REVENUES: | |||||||||||||
| Advisory fees | |||||||||||||
| Asset-based | $ | 11,696 | $ | 9,676 | $ | 42,153 | $ | 31,794 | |||||
| Trust fees | 3,101 | 2,938 | 12,051 | 10,304 | |||||||||
| Other revenues, net | 633 | 109 | 1,109 | 455 | |||||||||
| Total revenues | 15,430 | 12,723 | 55,313 | 42,553 | |||||||||
| EXPENSES: | |||||||||||||
| Employee compensation and benefits | 7,554 | 6,765 | 29,001 | 23,730 | |||||||||
| Sales and marketing | 254 | 128 | 823 | 576 | |||||||||
| WHG mutual funds | 318 | 175 | 662 | 600 | |||||||||
| Information technology | 374 | 296 | 1,351 | 1,221 | |||||||||
| Professional services | 1,025 | 401 | 2,941 | 1,531 | |||||||||
| General and administrative | 788 | 671 | 2,814 | 2,577 | |||||||||
| Total expenses | 10,313 | 8,436 | 37,592 | 30,235 | |||||||||
| Income before income taxes | 5,117 | 4,287 | 17,721 | 12,318 | |||||||||
| Provision for income taxes | 1,862 | 1,566 | 6,441 | 4,423 | |||||||||
| Net income | $ | 3,255 | $ | 2,721 | $ | 11,280 | $ | 7,895 | |||||
| Earnings per share: | |||||||||||||
| Basic | $ | 0.48 | $ | 0.38 | $ | 1.62 | $ | 1.10 | |||||
| Diluted | $ | 0.46 | $ | 0.38 | $ | 1.58 | $ | 1.09 | |||||
| WESTWOOD HOLDINGS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | ||||||||
| As of December 31, 2010 and 2009 | ||||||||
| (in thousands, except par value and share amounts) | ||||||||
| 2010 | 2009 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current Assets: | ||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 1,744 | $ | 2,879 | ||||
| Accounts receivable | 7,348 | 6,406 | ||||||
| Investments, at market value | 43,300 | 42,246 | ||||||
| Deferred income taxes | 2,757 | 2,187 | ||||||
| Other current assets | 733 | 625 | ||||||
| Total current assets | 55,882 | 54,343 | ||||||
| Goodwill | 11,281 | 3,915 | ||||||
| Intangible assets, net | 5,119 | 1,050 | ||||||
| Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $1,542 and $1,315 | 346 | 578 | ||||||
| Total assets | $ | 72,628 | $ | 59,886 | ||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERSa™ EQUITY | ||||||||
| Current Liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | $ | 1,290 | $ | 995 | ||||
| Dividends payable | - | 2,359 | ||||||
| Compensation and benefits payable | 9,369 | 6,273 | ||||||
| Income taxes payable | 173 | 823 | ||||||
| Deferred acquisition liability | 899 | 900 | ||||||
| Other current liabilities | 13 | 11 | ||||||
| Total current liabilities | 11,744 | 11,361 | ||||||
| Deferred acquisition liability | - | 796 | ||||||
| Deferred income taxes | 117 | 238 | ||||||
| Deferred rent | 90 | 273 | ||||||
| Total long-term liabilities | 207 | 1,307 | ||||||
| Total liabilities | 11,951 | 12,668 | ||||||
| Stockholdersa™ Equity: | ||||||||
| Common stock, $0.01 par value, authorized 25,000,000 shares, issued 7,874,873 and outstanding 7,645,678 shares at December 31, 2010; issued 7,308,812 and outstanding 7,151,472 shares at December 31, 2009 |
79 |
73 | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | 65,639 | 47,741 | ||||||
| Treasury stock, at cost a" 229,195 shares at December 31, 2010; 157,340 shares at December 31, 2009 | (8,749 | ) | (6,026 | ) | ||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 926 | 1,559 | ||||||
| Retained earnings | 2,782 | 3,871 | ||||||
| Total stockholdersa™ equity | 60,677 | 47,218 | ||||||
| Total liabilities and stockholdersa™ equity | $ | 72,628 | $ | 59,886 | ||||
| WESTWOOD HOLDINGS GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS | ||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||
| 2010 | 2009 | |||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES: | ||||||||
| Net income | $ | 11,280 | $ | 7,895 | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | ||||||||
| Depreciation | 274 | 241 | ||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 155 | 13 | ||||||
| Fair market valuation of deferred acquisition liabilities | 156 | 23 | ||||||
| Unrealized gains on investments | (694 | ) | (588 | ) | ||||
| Restricted stock amortization | 9,269 | 7,666 | ||||||
| Deferred income taxes | (350 | ) | (73 | ) | ||||
| Excess tax benefits from stock based compensation | (1,026 | ) | (1,518 | ) | ||||
| Net purchases of investments a" trading securities | (714 | ) | (9,721 | ) | ||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Accounts receivable | (942 | ) | 6,232 | |||||
| Other assets | (94 | ) | 76 | |||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | (2,167 | ) | (101 | ) | ||||
| Compensation and benefits payable | 3,096 | (779 | ) | |||||
| Income taxes payable and prepaid taxes | 838 | 1,298 | ||||||
| Other liabilities | (100 | ) | (58 | ) | ||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | 18,981 | 10,606 | ||||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES: | ||||||||
| Purchases of money market funds a" available for sale | (39,877 | ) | (64,984 | ) | ||||
| Sales of money market funds a" available for sale | 39,257 | 63,597 | ||||||
| Cash paid for business combination | (5,609 | ) | (251 | ) | ||||
| Purchases of property and equipment | (137 | ) | (86 | ) | ||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | (6,366 | ) | (1,724 | ) | ||||
| CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES: | ||||||||
| Purchases of treasury stock | (2,723 | ) | (2,526 | ) | ||||
| Excess tax benefits from stock based compensation | 1,026 | 1,518 | ||||||
| Proceeds from exercise of stock options | 213 | 33 | ||||||
| Cash dividends | (12,266 | ) | (8,526 | ) | ||||
| Net cash used in financing activities | (13,750 | ) | (9,501 | ) | ||||
| NET DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS | (1,135 | ) | (619 | ) | ||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year | 2,879 | 3,498 | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, end of year | $ | 1,744 | $ | 2,879 | ||||
| Supplemental cash flow information: | ||||||||
| Cash paid during the year for income taxes | $ | 5,937 | $ | 3,199 | ||||
| Issuance of restricted stock | 14,664 | 7,263 | ||||||
| Reconciliation of Net Income to Economic Earnings and Total Expenses to Economic Expenses | ||||||||||||
| (in thousands, except per share data and share amounts) | ||||||||||||
| (unaudited) | ||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | ||||||||||||
| December 31 | % | |||||||||||
| 2010 | 2009 | Change | ||||||||||
| Net Income | $ | 3,255 | $ | 2,721 | 20 | % | ||||||
| Add: Restricted stock expense | 2,342 | 1,972 | 19 | |||||||||
| Add: Intangible amortization | 76 | 13 | 485 | |||||||||
| Add: Tax benefit from goodwill amortization | 31 | 5 | 520 | |||||||||
| Economic earnings | $ | 5,704 | $ | 4,711 | 21 | |||||||
| Diluted weighted average shares | 7,018,633 | 6,442,095 | 9 | |||||||||
| Economic earnings per share | $ | 0.81 | $ | 0.73 | 11 | |||||||
| Total expenses | $ | 10,313 | $ | 8,436 | 22 | |||||||
| Less: Restricted stock expense | (2,342 | ) | (1,972 | ) | 19 | |||||||
| Less: Intangible amortization | (76 | ) | (13 | ) | 485 | |||||||
| Economic expenses | $ | 7,895 | $ | 6,451 | 22 | % | ||||||
| Year Ended | ||||||||||||
| December 31 | % | |||||||||||
| 2010 | 2009 | Change | ||||||||||
| Net Income | $ | 11,280 | $ | 7,895 | 43 | % | ||||||
| Add: Restricted stock expense | 9,269 | 7,666 | 21 | |||||||||
| Add: Intangible amortization | 155 | 13 | 1,092 | |||||||||
| Add: Tax benefit from goodwill amortization | 59 | 5 | 1,080 | |||||||||
| Economic earnings | $ | 20,763 | $ | 15,579 | 33 | |||||||
| Diluted weighted average shares | 6,795,351 | 6,366,988 | 7 | |||||||||
| Economic earnings per share | $ | 3.06 | $ | 2.45 | 25 | |||||||
| Total expenses | $ | 37,592 | $ | 30,235 | 24 | |||||||
| Less: Restricted stock expense | (9,269 | ) | (7,666 | ) | 21 | |||||||
| Less: Intangible amortization | (155 | ) | (13 | ) | 1,092 | |||||||
| Economic expenses | $ | 28,168 | $ | 22,556 | 25 | % | ||||||
As supplemental information, we are providing non-GAAP performance measures that we refer to as Economic Earnings, Economic Earnings per share (or Economic EPS), and Economic Expenses. We provide these measures in addition to, not as a substitute for, net income, earnings per share and total expenses, which are reported on a GAAP basis. Management and our Board of Directors review Economic Earnings, Economic EPS and Economic Expenses to evaluate Westwooda™s ongoing performance, allocate resources and review dividend policy. We believe that these non-GAAP performance measures, while not substitutes for GAAP net income, earnings per share and total expenses, are useful for both management and investors when evaluating Westwooda™s underlying operating and financial performance and its available resources. We do not advocate that investors consider these non-GAAP measures without considering financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP.
We define Economic Earnings as net income plus non-cash equity-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets and deferred taxes related to goodwill. We define Economic Expenses as total expenses less non-cash equity-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets. Although depreciation on fixed assets is a non-cash expense, we do not add it back when calculating Economic Earnings or deduct it when calculating Economic Expenses because depreciation charges represent a decline in the value of the related assets that will ultimately require replacement. In addition, we do not adjust Economic Earnings for tax deductions related to restricted stock expense or amortization of intangible assets. Economic EPS represents Economic Earnings divided by diluted weighted average shares outstanding.
(WHG-G)