Report To Shareholders |
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| To Our Shareholders: Gabelli Asset Management, Inc. (NYSE: GBL) reported its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2003. We are pleased to share with you the highlights.
Financial Highlights
Operating income before management fee was $21.6 million, down 3% from the $22.3 million earned in the third quarter of 2002, reflecting the inclusion of Woodland Partners (Wo o d l a n d ) and Grove Investment Advisors (Grove), which were acquired in the fourth quarter of 2002, higher staffing for research and sales, stock option expense ($450,000 versus $98,000), and a higher accrual for discretionary bonuses. For the nine months ended September 30, 2003 revenues were $145.8 million, a decline of 10.4% from prior comparable year revenues of $162.8 million. Operating income before management fee was $58.1 million, down 24.8% from $77.3 million in the first nine months of 2002, due to lower revenues as well as the eff e c t of higher variable compensation costs (as a percent of revenue) related to a shift in mix, the acquisition of Woodland and Grove, stock option expense, as well as an increase in costs principally related to increased staffing, mostly in research and marketing. Net income for the first nine months of 2003 was $33.2 million or $1.10 per diluted share versus $40.8 million or $1.35 per diluted share in the first nine months of 2002.
Financial Results
Revenues at GAMCO, the institutional and high net worth segment of our business, which are largely based on assets under management at the beginning of the quarter, increased 23% over the second quarter. Assets under management in our GAMCO separate accounts at September 30, 2003 were $11.3 billion, 21.5% ahead of the $9.3 billion at September 30, 2002, and 4.5% higher than the $10.8 billion at June 30, 2003. Variable expenses, the majority which represent compensation to our investment and sales teams, increased 11.4% from the prior y e a r’s quarter due to increased variable compensation related to our Alternative Investment products ($1.4 million) and the acquisition of Woodland and Grove. For the nine month period, variable expenses decreased 5.2% as the impact of the revenue decline was partially offset by increased variable compensation costs related to Alternative products ($2.5 million) and Wo o d l a n d and Grove ($1.5 million) as well as an increase in mutual fund distribution costs (as a percent of revenue). Expenses not directly tied to revenues, increased 57.7% over the prior year’s quarter with the majority of the increase attributable to the addition of research analysts, marketing and investment professionals, stock option expense, the negative year-over-year effect of a reversal of incentive compensation in the 2002 quarter and other operating expenses, which included promotional activities, insurance, legal and accounting costs. Management fee expense, a totally variable cost based on pretax profits, increased 6.7% to $2.2 million for the quarter but declined 18.2% to $6.0 million for the first nine months of 2003. Investment income increased $3.2 million to $4.5 million during the third quarter of 2003 and $7.7 million to $12.3 million for the first nine months versus their comparable 2002 periods. Interest expense rose 36.5% during the 2003 quarter to $4.2 million compared to $3.1 million in the prior year’s quarter and was up 20.3% to $10.8 million for the nine month period, mostly due to the May 2003 issuance of $100 million of 5.5% senior notes, and offset in part by a one percentage point decrease in the interest rate on our convertible note from 6% to 5% in mid-August. The effective tax rate for the 2003 quarter was 37.0% versus 37.6% in the 2002 quarter due to the effect of a dividend received deduction related to a $518,000 dividend received from our Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. investment. The increase in minority interest expense for both the three and nine months ended September 30, 2003 versus the prior year periods is larg e l y the result of increased earnings from our Alternative Investment products at our 92% owned subsidiary, Gabelli Securities, Inc.
Investment and Business Highlights
The Gabelli Utility Trust closed-end fund (NYSE: GUT) rights offering, whereby holders of three rights were entitled to purchase one newly issued share of common stock, was heavily oversubscribed as subscriptions received were nearly twice the 5.1 million shares available to be issued pursuant to the primary subscription. The Gabelli Utility Trust had $200 million in total assets after the offering. The Gabelli Equity Trust closed-end fund (NYSE: GAB) completed the placement of $125 million of Series D Auction Rate Cumulative Preferred Stock in early October. T h e preferred shares, rated “Aaa” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., sets its dividend rate through an auction process. Citigroup, Merrill Lynch & Co., and Gabelli & Company, Inc. served as underwriters for the offering. The Gabelli Equity Trust had $1.4 billion in total assets after the offering. GAMCO’s sub-advisory business has been a bright spot as assets under management rose 12.6% during the quarter and 24.7% for the nine-month period, reflecting both positive cash flow and performance. We announced a new closed-end fund, The Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust, which we plan to offer in November. Our Alternative Investment business continued to show strong growth during the quarter.
- In terms of new products, our sector strategy partnerships in both gold and energy continued to perform well during the quarter relative to their respective benchmarks. Our Gabelli Gold Fund continued its solid performance in 2003, returning 23.6% year to date through September 30th after earning a return in excess of 87% during 2002. Its average annual return for the three years ended September 30, 2003 was 44.9%. During October 2003, the Company received a request from the New York Attorney General's office (NYAG) in the form of a subpoena for information relating to trading issues involving mutual fund shares. The Company also received and responded to a request from the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the pricing and trading of shares of Gabelli mutual funds with significant foreign holdings. The Company is now in the process of gathering information requested by the NYAG's office and is fully cooperating with these inquiries. Additional information regarding these issues, including a memo from the Chief Operating Officer of Gabelli Funds, LLC, is posted on our web site at www.gabelli.com/funds.
Shareholder Initiatives
We would like to establish a history of paying dividends. Accordingly, management is planning to recommend a nominal initial dividend to its Board of Directors for consideration at its next meeting. If approved, the Company may pay its first dividend in 2003. The holders of the Company’s Class B stock have, under certain conditions, waived their right to receive any cash dividend that may be payable in 2003.
Financial Strength and Flexibility
Stockholders’ equity, including the mandatory convertible securities as equity, was $444.8 million at September 30, 2003 compared with $406.3 million at December 31, 2002 and $401.2 million at September 30, 2002. We include mandatory convertible securities as equity since this instrument will be exchanged for common shares on February 2005. We repurchased 15,300 shares of these mandatory convertible securities during the first nine months of 2003, bringing the total shares repurchased since May 2002 to 233,500 at a total investment of $5.1 million. An additional 466,500 shares remain to be repurchased under this program.
Mario J. Gabelli
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
NOTES ON NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
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Unaudited Consolidated Unaudited Condensed |
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