Singer soars on profits boost
BETTER-than-expected half-year results and a bumper special dividend from Singer & Friedlander, the banking and asset management group, made the company's shares one of the best mid-cap performers today.
Singer gained 5%, or 8p, to 167p, despite posting a 22% drop in pre-tax profits to £14.7m for the six months to 30 June from £18.8m over last year.
The interim dividend is doubled to 9p, enhanced by a tax rebate worth 6.5p per share.
Chief executive John Hodson said he would look hard at selling the company's 30.85% stake in Carnegie, the Scandinavian investment bank. 'The window of opportunity to sell our stake runs from 15 October for six weeks.'
Operating profits from its asset management arm more than halved to £1.6m for the first six months from £3.6 million a year ago, but this was still 20% more than analysts at Citigroup Smith Barney had forecast.
Management fee income representing 79% of total revenue for the period was 20% lower than the first half of 2002 'directly reflectingthe lower levels of the relevant markets', Hodson said.
Operating profits from Singer's bank lending and asset finance business improved, however, 7% to £8.26m.
Singer's recent appointment of its first female board director, Sarah Rutherford was to help deal with the 'critical and ever increasing importance' of employment related issues, said chairman Paul Selway-Swift.
Hodson said his company had no particular problems with sex discrimination claims or other employment issues but recognised their importance.
The cases and the costs
THE appointment of Sarah Rutherford to the Singer & Friedlander board, bringing with her specialist employment skills, follows a string of City sex discrimination claims and payouts.
Investec this month ended nearly two years of embarrassing sex discrimination claims with its former star media analyst Louise Barton, settling out of court for an undisclosed amount thought to be close to £1m.
HBOS's asset management arm, Insight, is due before an employment tribunal next spring to face a potential £1m claim from former fund manager Christine Farquhar for sex discrimination and victimisation.
Carina Coleman recently won £100,000 from Lansdowne Bank for unfair dismissal but lost her sex discrimination claim. She had alleged that her boss labelled her a 'tethered goat' in front of clients.
Julie Bower collected a record £1.4m from Schroder Securities last year after winning an unfair dismissal and sex discrimination claim.
