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Quam Announces 2011/12 Annual Results
- Core Businesses Securities and Corporate Finance Perform Well
- Securities Division Breaks Into Category "B" Class in HKEx in 2012 Q1
HONG KONG, Jun 23, 2012 - (ACN Newswire) - Quam Limited ("Quam" or the "Group", HK:0952), a Hong Kong-based financial services group, today announced its audited annual results for the year ended 31 March 2012 ("the Year").
During the Year, Quam recorded a revenue of HK$358.3 million (2011: HK$306.6 million), representing an increase of 16.9% compared to last year. The Group's net loss was HK$24.5 million (2011: net profit of HK$7.7 million). Basic loss per share were HK2.34 cents (2011 basic earnings per share: HK0.80 cent).
The Group's Board of Directors did not recommend the payment of any final dividend for the year ended 31 March 2012 (2011 final dividend: HK0.50 cent).
Mr Kenneth LAM, the Chief Executive Officer of Quam, commented on the results and said, "The Group believes that the results have not fully reflected the performance of Quam, largely due to several one-off events, including the liquidation of our counter-party broker MF Global Hong Kong at the end of October 2011, a one-off impairment charge incurred from the investment of our Middle East associate McMillen Advantage Capital Limited, the failure of an Australian company in which we had underwriting commitment and the discontinued Shanghai private equity team. Despite the above independent events, our core businesses have actually performed well with most of the business units recording revenue increase."
During the Year, the securities and futures dealing commissions increased by 17.4% to HK$218.0 (2011: HK$185.7 million) because of the expanded client base supported by a larger sales force and improvements in service scope and quality. The division was able to increase market share and ranked category "B" among more than 480 trading participants in Hong Kong in the first quarter of 2012. The securities margin loan book at the end of Year stood at HK$469.3 million (2011: HK$329.9 million). The ECM business activity in placement and underwriting fee income for the Year adjusted to HK$12.7 million (2011: HK$22.0 million). In December 2011, the wealth management business has undergone a rebranding and is now named "Quam Private Wealth".
The revenue from the corporate finance unit increased to HK$54.3 million (2011: HK$40.1 million). Quam Capital has expanded its head-count by 20% and the dedicated China/European desk has built up the reputation among investors. The division closed more than 40 transactions covering IPOs, corporate advisory and restructuring mandates.
Revenue for asset management fee amounted HK$9.0 million (2011: HK$10.6 million). During the Year, two new funds, the Quam Silkroad Mongolia SP Fund and Quam BRIC EDCA Segregated Portfolio were launched. Total Assets under Management (AUM) of all the funds stood at close to US$62.9 million as at 31 March 2012. The division has undergone some restructuring in January 2012 to enhance cost efficiency.
Quamnet's revenue for the Year has slightly increased to HK$26.9 million (2011: HK$25.3 million), which was 6.3% higher when compared to the previous year. The improvement in advertising market in the financial services category has contributed to the growth of advertising and content subscription revenue. The website management and related services revenue has also increased, attributing to the launch of new paid services.
Mr LAM said, "We remain cautiously optimistic for the year ahead amid the ongoing European debt crisis, the volatile US market as well as lower investment confidence. Against such backdrop, we believe it is essential for the Group to focus on the fundamentals: to continue carrying out our cost rationalization policy, preserving current businesses and relationships and seeking divestment of some of our investments which are not directly linked to our operations."
Mr. Bernard POULIOT, the Chairman of Quam concluded, "Quam will focus and redeploy capital in Hong Kong and China by reinforcing our distribution platform in Hong Kong, expand aggressively our wealth management team, and enlarge further our capital markets capability. We will keep refining our business strategies and by all means strive for sustainable growth."
* for identification purpose only
Contact:Quam IR
Ms Anita Wan, Tel: +852-2217-2811, E-mail: anita.wan@quamgroup.com
Ms Sharon Au, Tel: +852-2217-2812, E-mail: sharon.au@quamgroup.com
Ms Venus Lam, Tel: +852-2217-2813, E-mail: venus.lam@quamgroup.com
Source: Quam Limited
Sectors: Daily Finance
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