Asset manager Legg Mason Inc. (LM: Quote), Thursday slipped to a loss in the first quarter, hurt mainly by lower revenues and debt-related charges.
Revenues for the quarter slid 12 percent from last year, hurt by a 5 percent drop in assets under management, a less favorable asset mix, and lower performance fees. Results were also impacted by debt-related charges of $69 million.
CEO Mark Fetting "In the quarter, Legg Mason made significant progress positioning the firm for long-term revenue and earnings growth, even amid continued volatility in the equity markets which led to a drop in revenues..."
Fetting also said the company is reducing debt levels and has the flexibility to invest in organic growth and fill product and geographic gaps.
Baltimore, Maryland-based Legg Mason reported a first quarter net loss of $9.5 million or $0.07 per share, compared to net income of $60.0 million or $0.40 per share last year. On average, 9 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report breakeven earnings for the quarter.
Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $88.6 million or $0.64 per share.
Revenues for the quarter were $630.7 million, down from $717 million a year ago. Analysts expected revenues of $645.22 million for the quarter.
As of June 30, 2012, the company had assets under management of $631.8 billion, compared to $662.5 billion in the prior year.
LM is trading at $24.69, down 1.75%, on a volume of over 3 million shares on the NYSE.
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by RTT Staff Writer
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