Arbuthnot Regulatory News (ARBB)

11 Jan 2008 07:00

Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC11 January 2008 ARBUTHNOT BANKING GROUP PLC PRE CLOSE TRADING STATEMENT Ahead of entering its close period, Arbuthnot Banking Group issues the followingupdate for the year ended 31 December 2007. Arbuthnot Banking Group is estimating Group pre tax profits of approximately£8.5m for 2007, in line with market expectations. This compares with pre tax andexceptional profits of £8.2m in 2006. The investment banking business, Arbuthnot Securities, maintained its first halfperformance in the second half despite the deterioration in market conditions.This excellent performance demonstrates the momentum that the business has builtup over the last three years. Pre tax profits are estimated at £4.1m in thesecond half, bringing the total for 2007 to approximately £8.1m representing anapproximate 60% increase on 2006. During the year Arbuthnot Securities acted ona total of 49 transactions. These included 29 fund raisings (including 5 IPOs)which raised a total of £672m for clients. In addition, Arbuthnot Securitiesadvised on 20 M&A deals which had a combined value of approximately £1bn.Notwithstanding the challenging market, the business successfully completed allthe fund raisings it embarked upon in 2007. At the end of the year the retainedcorporate client list had grown to 85 with an average market capitalisation of£130m. In private banking Arbuthnot Latham's pre tax profits are estimated at £0.1m forthe second half, bringing the 2007 total to approximately £1.5m. The first halfperformance reflected significant fees in transaction related services whichwere not repeated in the second half. Market conditions in the wholesale moneymarkets have had little impact on Arbuthnot Latham as the business is wellfunded through retail deposits in line with the Group's longstanding practiceand its substantial banking lines were not utilised in 2007. The investment programme at Secure Trust Bank continues and pre tax profits areestimated at £2.1m for the second half, bringing the total for 2007 toapproximately £4.5m. There is a prior year adjustment that relates to theunsecured lending book and which has accumulated over several years. This islikely to result in a downward restatement of retained earnings of approximately£1.1m. As reported in the interim results, the majority of new unsecured lendingwas outsourced in the first half before the onset of the credit crunch. In summary these results again demonstrate the benefit of the Group's long termand diversified strategic approach. Press enquiries: Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC Tel: 020 70122400Henry Angest, Chairman and Chief ExecutiveAndrew Salmon, Chief Operating OfficerPaul Sheriff, Group Finance Director Maitland Tel: 020 73795151Lydia PretzlikRichard Farnsworth This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange