Fiske Regulatory News (FKE)

26 February 2020

Fiske Plc

('Fiske' or 'the Company')

Interim Results

The Company announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 November 2019.

In accordance with rule 26 of the AIM Rules for Companies this information is also available, under the Investors section, at the Company's website, http://www.fiskeplc.com .

For further information please contact:

• Samantha Harrison/Harrison Clarke/Niall McDonald, Grant Thornton UK LLP (Nominated Adviser)

(tel: 020 7383 5100)

• Gerard Luchini, Fiske Plc - Compliance Officer

(tel: 020 7448 4700)

Chairman's Statement

Trading

Chairman's Statement

Trading

Our results for the half year to 30 November 2019 were significantly better than for the prior half year with a pre-tax operating loss of £158,000 compared to a loss of £344,000 for the comparable period in 2018.

Our fee and commission revenues were some £334,000 higher than the prior year comparative which represents an improvement of approximately 15%. Within this our investment management fee revenues grew by 19% whilst our commission revenues increased by 12% when compared to the equivalent period to 30 November 2018. This has delivered total revenues of £2.509 million (2018: £2.163 million) which is a result of generally improved market conditions and the continued migration of clients to fee paying services.

Our operating expenses increased by 9% to £2.746 million (2018: £2.509 million) primarily as a result of additional costs relating to the increasing burden of regulation manifesting itself in the ongoing development of our internal controls around the Client Money and Assets rules (CASS).

Asset Management

We are pleased to report further progress for our unit trust, Ocean UK Equity. In the period to 31 January 2020 the fund has delivered first quartile performance in each of the last three and twelve month periods (Source: T. Bailey Fund Services Limited/Financial Express Analytics). As at the end of January 2020 the fund was valued at approximately £8.2 million. We have also delivered a good performance for The Investment Company plc, a listed investment trust, with the net asset value rising by 7.6% over the six months to 31 December 2019 and the share price rising by 16.1% over the same period.

Investment Managers

Despite the ongoing cost pressure from the regulatory environment we continue to invest in the growth of our front office capabilities. The two investment managers who joined us shortly before the beginning of the financial year are making an increasingly positive contribution.

Euroclear

Due to the re-domiciliation of Euroclear from Switzerland to Belgium in late 2018 we have not received dividend income from Euroclear in either the financial year to 31 May 2019 or the six month period to 30 November 2019. Subsequent to the period end we have now received part of the dividend for Euroclear's financial year to 31 December 2018. The dividend amounted to €55 per share and we received €139,000 in December 2019 with the tax credit of €59,000 to follow in due course.

Euroclear have recently announced that following another successful year to 31 December 2019, where their profits rose by 34%, they have increased their full year dividend by 50%. This will mean we can expect to receive a dividend of approximately €298,000 from Euroclear during this calendar year. We expect this to further strengthen the market value of our holding.

Restatement of accounts

Following our own internal audit process, the directors of the Company have determined that certain adjustments need to be made to the accounts. These result primarily from a change in an accounting process which has affected the way in which our systems data has been interpreted for accounting purposes. In addition, we have resolved to change the way in which the accounting for the acquisition of Fieldings Investment Management has been executed.

There has been no impact on the client money or asset positions of our clients, and no impact on the Company's cash position. The overall impact has been an overstatement of current liabilities. The necessary adjustments, accumulated over several years, amount to a net addition of some £532,000 to the Group's net assets as at 31 May 2019. Comparative data in this report has been restated and the adjustments elaborated in notes to the accounts.

IFRS 16

The adoption of IFRS 16 from 1 June 2019 has resulted in a new treatment of our property rental obligations leading to the inclusion of £188,000 of right-of-use assets in the Statement of Financial Position as at 30 November 2019 together with a lease liability of £225,000. In the six months to 30 June 2019, operating profit was increased by £26,000, which was matched by an increase in lease liability interest of £14,000, giving a de-minimis impact to the Income Statement. Further information can be found in Note 1.

Markets

Since the decisive victory of the Conservatives in the UK General Election held in December 2019 investment sentiment has markedly improved. Having a government with a sizeable majority should allow for positive measures to be delivered to drive economic growth and maintain a more favourable market background. Offsetting this optimism to some extent is the growing impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) not only in China but increasingly around the world. Until we see a genuine peak in new cases in China and a significant diminution in the rate of infection elsewhere markets will struggle to shake off the increasingly negative outlook for global growth in 2020.

Outlook

Assuming no significant deterioration in trading conditions, the board remains confident that the Group will continue to make further progress in 2020.

Clive Fiske Harrison

Chairman

26 February 2020

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Total Comprehensive Income

for the six months ended 30 November 2019

All results are from continuing operations and are attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

30 November 2019

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the six months ended 30 November 2019

Notes to the Interim Financial Statements

1. Basis of preparation

The Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements of Fiske plc and its subsidiaries (the Group) for the six months ended 30 November 2019 have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 (Interim Financial Reporting), as adopted in the United Kingdom. The accounting policies applied are consistent with those set out in the May 2019 Fiske plc Annual Report and accounts except for IFRS 16 (Leases) which has been adopted in the current year.

These Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements do not include all the information required for full annual statements and should be read in conjunction with the May 2019 Annual Report and Accounts.

The comparative figures for the year ended 31 May 2019 do not constitute the Group's statutory Financial Statements for that financial year as defined in Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006, and amounts which have been extracted from those Financial Statements for reporting in these have been subject to restatements as elaborated in Note 4 below.

The Financial Statements of the Group for the year ended 31 May2019 were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards adopted by in the United Kingdom. The statutory Consolidated Financial Statements for Fiske plc in respect of the year ended 31 May 2019 have been reported on by the Company's auditor and delivered to the registrar of companies. The report of the auditor was (i) unqualified, (ii) did not include a reference to any matters to which the auditor drew attention by way of emphasis without qualifying their report, and (iii) did not contain a statement under Section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

Under IAS 27 these financial statements are prepared on a consolidated basis where the Group consists of Fiske plc, the parent, and those subsidiaries in which it owns 100% of the voting rights, being Ionian Group Limited, Fiske Nominees Limited, Fieldings Investment Management Limited and VOR Financial Strategy Limited.

The directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus they continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing this half-yearly financial report.

New standards adopted in the current year

IFRS 16 (Leases)

The Group adopted IFRS 16 (Leases) using the modified retrospective approach on 1 June 2019. IFRS 16 introduces new requirements for lessee and lessor accounting, with the distinction between operating lease and finance lease no longer applying for lessees. Under IFRS 16, a lessee is required to recognise assets and liabilities for all leases with a term of more than 12 months, unless the underlying asset is of a low value when new. The new standard also requires depreciation of the asset to be recognised separately from the interest expense on the lease liability.

As a result of adopting IFRS 16, the difference between the asset and liability recognised on 1 June 2019 has been shown as an adjustment to opening retained earnings within the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity. The exemptions taken by the Group on transition are detailed below. For any new leases entered into after 1 June 2019, the lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at the commencement date, discounted by using the incremental borrowing rate for the related geographical location. The lease liability is subsequently measured by increasing the carrying amount to reflect interest on the lease liability and by reducing the carrying amount to reflect the lease payments made.

The right-of-use assets comprise the initial measurement of the corresponding lease liability, lease payments made at or before the commencement date and any initial direct costs. They are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses.

2. Taxation

No tax credit on the loss for the period has been recognised for the six months to 30 November 2019, due to uncertainty over the timing and quantum of future taxable profits being available.

3. Dividends paid

Dividends paid in the first half of the year to 31 May 2020 £nil (2019 - £nil).

4. Impact of restatements

(a) Consolidated Statement of Total Comprehensive income in the prior half year to 30 November 2018

(b) Consolidated Statement of Total Comprehensive income in the prior year to 31 May 2019

(c) Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as at 30 November 2018

(d) Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as at 31 May 2019

(e) Consolidated Statement of Financial Position as at 1 June 2018

Notes:

i impact of change in an accounting process which has affected the way in which our systems data has been interpreted for accounting purposes, resulting in increased revenue and reallocated costs

ii impact of change in the way in which the accounting for the acquisition of Fieldings Investment Management Ltd has been executed, resulting in an amortisation of the fair value adjustment to deferred consideration payable