Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2016 Results

DALLAS, July 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE:WHG) today reported second quarter 2016 revenues of $31.0 million compared to revenues of $37.3 million in the second quarter of 2015. Asset- based advisory fees decreased $4.8 million due to lower average assets under management primarily related to net outflows and depreciation since the second quarter of 2015. We earned performance-based fees of $0.4 million in the second quarter 2016 compared to $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2015. Assets under management ("AUM") totaled $21.0 billion at June 30, 2016, excluding assets under advisement ("AUA") totaling $322 million.

Second quarter net income totaled $5.7 million compared with $9.8 million in the second quarter of 2015, primarily due to a $4.2 million decrease in advisory fees and a $0.6 million charge for one-time information technology implementation costs, both net of tax, partially offset by a decrease in incentive compensation costs related to lower results in 2016. Diluted earnings per share of $0.69 compared to $1.23 for the second quarter of 2015. Non-GAAP Economic Earnings for the quarter of $10.4 million compared with $14.4 million in the prior year's second quarter. Non-GAAP Economic Earnings per share ("Economic EPS") of $1.27 compared with $1.80 in the second quarter of 2015.

Highlights from the second quarter 2016 include:

• Strong performance of our Emerging Markets and Multi-Asset strategies.
• Negative flows were driven primarily by reallocations from U.S. equity mandates.
• Unfunded mandate wins were at their highest level in over a year.

Brian Casey, Westwood’s President & CEO, commented, “The current investing and business environment is one of the most unusual we have seen in a long time. Flows to low- and in some cases even negative-yielding fixed income securities are strong while equities remain out of favor despite the S&P 500 recently reaching an all-time high. So far this year, strong performance has been delivered by several of our strategies, primarily in the Emerging Markets and Multi-Asset segments, which positions us well in areas of rising long-term secular investor demand. We experienced negative flows for the quarter, primarily driven by continued reductions in U.S. equity allocations by investors. On a positive note, unfunded mandates reached their highest level in over a year, with wins coming across a number of our strategies. We expect these mandates to be funded over the remainder of this year.”

Westwood’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.57 per common share, payable on October 3, 2016 to stockholders of record on September 9, 2016. At quarter-end, Westwood had $73.9 million in cash and investments, stockholders’ equity of $137.6 million, and no debt.

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.

Westwood will host a conference call to discuss second quarter 2016 results and other business matters at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time today. To join the conference call, dial 877-303-6235 (domestic and Canada) or 631-291-4837 (international). The conference call can also be accessed via our Investor Relations page at westwoodgroup.com and will be available for replay through August 3, 2016 by dialing 855-859-2056 (domestic and Canada) or 404-537-3406 (international) and then entering the passcode 43853210.

About Westwood

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. provides investment management services to institutional investors, private wealth clients and financial intermediaries. With $21.0 billion in assets under management*, our firm offers a range of investment strategies including U.S. equities, Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), Multi-Asset, Global and Emerging Markets equities, and Global Convertible securities portfolios. Access to these strategies is available through separate accounts, commingled funds, the Westwood Funds® family of mutual funds, and UCITS funds. Westwood benefits from significant, broad-based employee ownership and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “WHG.” Based in Dallas, Westwood also maintains offices in Toronto, Boston, Omaha and Houston.

For more information on Westwood, please visit www.westwoodgroup.com.

For more information on the Westwood Funds®, please visit www.westwoodfunds.com.

*As of June 30, 2016

Forward-looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts, including, without limitation, statements about our expected future financial position, results of operations or cash flows, as well as other statements including without limitation, words such as “anticipate,” “forecast,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “should,” “could,” “goal,” “may,” “target,” “designed,” “on track,” “comfortable with,” “optimistic” 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: regulations adversely affecting the financial services industry; the composition and market value of our assets under management; competition in the investment management industry; our investments in foreign companies; our ability to develop and market new investment strategies successfully; our ability to pursue and properly integrate acquired businesses; litigation risks; our ability to retain qualified personnel; our relationships with current and potential customers; our ability to properly address conflicts of interest; our ability to maintain adequate insurance coverage; our ability to maintain effective information systems; our ability to maintain effective cyber security; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls; our ability to maintain our fee structure in light of competitive fee pressures; our relationships with investment consulting firms; the significant concentration of our revenues in a small number of customers; and the other risks detailed from time to time in Westwood’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10- K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2016. 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.

As supplemental information, we are providing non-GAAP performance measures that we refer to as Economic Earnings and Economic Earnings per share ("Economic EPS"). We provide these measures in addition to, not as a substitute for, net income and earnings per share, which are reported on a GAAP basis. Management reviews Economic Earnings and Economic EPS to evaluate Westwood’s ongoing performance, allocate resources, and review the dividend policy. We believe that these non-GAAP performance measures, while not substitutes for GAAP net income or earnings per share, are useful for management and investors when evaluating Westwood’s underlying operating and financial performance and its available resources. We do not advocate that investors consider these non-GAAP measures without also 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. Although depreciation on fixed assets is a non-cash expense, we do not add it back when calculating Economic Earnings because depreciation charges represent an allocation of the 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. 

CONTACT:
Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. 
Tiffany B. Kice
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer 
(214) 756-6900

07/27/2016 16:15

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