27.07.2018 – 07:04

Bellevue Group AG

EQS-News: Bellevue Group's net profit increased 17% to CHF 11.5 mn in the first half

EQS Group-News: Bellevue Group AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results
Bellevue Group's net profit increased 17% to CHF 11.5 mn in the first half

27.07.2018 / 07:00

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Media Release

Küsnacht, July 27, 2018

Bellevue Group's net profit increased 17% to CHF 11.5 mn in the first half -
record-high assets under management present a compelling platform for further
growth
Group operating profit increased 15% to CHF 13.5 mnNet inflow of CHF 552 mn in
new money from institutional and private clientsAuM increased 6% to a new record
high of CHF 12.7 bnAsset Management grows its operating profit to CHF 19.5 mnNet
loss at Bank am Bellevue, as expected due to start-up investment in Wealth
ManagementAbout 70% of the Group's equity strategies beat their benchmarks
Bellevue Group continued to sharpen its profile as an asset and wealth manager
during the first six months of the current year. Its solid business results for
the first half of 2018 reflect national and international recognition of its
innovative active management expertise. André Rüegg, the CEO of Bellevue Group,
remarks: "Growing assets under management combined with our outstanding
performance track record create attractive growth prospects for our entire
Group. We intend to build more momentum in Asset Management using our broad
product offering and through selective innovations. After the successful start
of the Wealth Management unit, we now want to accelerate its business activities
and thereby further diversify the Group's income base."

Group assets under management at new high, driven by organic and inorganic
growth

Bellevue Group's appeal as an internationally active asset management boutique
with innovative asset and wealth management services is clearly growing. During
the first half of the year Bellevue Group acquired new money of CHF 552 mn. This
corresponds to an annualized new money growth rate of about 9% - which is at the
upper end of the targeted range of 5-10%. New money in the Asset Management unit
amounted to CHF 438 mn and Wealth Management was entrusted with new money of CHF
114 mn from entrepreneurial private clients. StarCapital is carefully moving
forward with its long-planned generational change and the process of replacing
the company's founder Peter Huber in his function as a fund manager. As
expected, this change in portfolio management led to a decline in assets under
management at the German subsidiary. StarCapital offset this outflow of funds
with the acquisition of Mars Asset Management.

Bellevue Group's organic asset management growth was broadly based. In Wealth
Management, domestic and, increasingly, foreign private clients begin to
discover the solid portfolio management expertise that Bellevue Group offers.
Asset Management's equity strategies for the healthcare and medtech sectors and
in the entrepreneurial space attracted considerable interest, as did various
fixed income strategies at StarCapital. A digital health fund launched at the
end of April had a successful start. This new thematic fund gives investors
access to a global portfolio of compelling technology ideas that additionally
benefits from the attractive fundamentals of the healthcare sector.

Bellevue Group increased its total assets under management by nearly 6% to CHF
12.7 bn - which marks a new record high for the Group. Besides the net inflow of
new money, financial market developments and investment performance also
contributed to the steady growth in assets under management, accounting for CHF
132 mn of the overall growth.

Outperformance of numerous equity strategies attests to the Group's investment
expertise

The skills of Bellevue's investment experts are reflected in their
better-than-average investment performance during the first half of 2018. This
substantiates the Group's ambition to create sustainable added value as an
active manager with innovative investment ideas. Supported by a still
constructive market environment, approximately 70% of all equity strategies
managed by Bellevue Group beat their respective benchmarks to the benefit of
clients. The best-performing investment vehicle managed by the Group was the BB
Adamant Global Healthcare Index Fund (CHF), which outperformed its benchmark by
nearly 14% and advanced almost 18% in absolute terms. Other top performers in
the first half were the BB Adamant Healthcare Index (USD) with an outperformance
of 12.5% (investment performance 14.0%), BB Adamant Global Medtech & Services
(CHF) with 8.4% (18.3%) and BB Entrepreneur Europe (EUR) with 3.5% (3.2%). A
superior performance was also achieved by the Group's flagship product BB
Biotech, which outperformed its benchmark by 3.6% (8.4%), and its London-based
counterpart, the BB Healthcare Trust with 7.5% (11.5%).

Steady increase in recurring income flows - stable cost/income ratio despite
capital investment

Bellevue Group continued to improve its income flows in both quantitative and
qualitative terms. The significantly enlarged asset base at the end of 2017 laid
the groundwork for this ongoing improvement and assets under management
continued to grow during the period under review. Fee and commission income rose
11.4% yoy to CHF 48.1 mn. This quantitative improvement was accompanied by an
increase in the recurring share of income from 78% to 94%. As in the past, Asset
Management generated most of the income. On the expense side, the focused
approach of the Group's business model led to a slight decrease in personnel
costs but an increase in general expenses, primarily due to investments in the
Wealth Management unit's technical infrastructure. A moderate increase in
expenses coupled with faster income growth resulted in a 15% increase in the
Group's operating profit to CHF 13.5 mn compared to the prior-year period. The
cost/income ratio for the first half of 2018 stood at 72.8%, which is already
within the mid-term targeted range of 70-75% despite the ongoing spending on
professional infrastructure at the Wealth Management unit. Group profit after
tax increased 17% to CHF 11.5 mn and the return on equity for the period was a
high 14.2%. Bellevue Group employed 117 people at the end of June 2018 (prior
year: 100).

Steady growth at Asset Management - expandable income base in Wealth Management

Bellevue Asset Management has sustained its dynamic profitable growth in the
current year. Its well-diversified investment competencies - distinctive
healthcare and specialized equity strategies complemented by multi-asset
strategies and global equity and fixed income funds from StarCapital - are
highly regarded by a broad spectrum of the international investment community.
Sustained business momentum lifted assets under management by 6% to CHF 10.6 bn
and fueled another sharp rise in operating income of 29% to a new high of CHF
46.3 mn. Operating expenses rose at a slower rate of 20% to CHF 26.8 mn,
resulting in a new record high operating profit of CHF 19.5 mn for the Asset
Management unit, which is 43% more than the figure reported for the prior-year
period.

Wealth Management, the unit which has been systematically built up within Bank
am Bellevue for the past approximately 12 months, is still in the early stages
of its planned development. Its focus on entrepreneurial private clients is
starting to bear fruit. Independent, active and highly innovative investment
advisory services are ideal for addressing individual asset and investment
needs. Furthermore, Thomas Pixner's assumption of the position of Bank am
Bellevue CEO and the election of new board director Veit de Maddalena in March
have strengthened the Wealth Management unit both operationally and in a
strategic sense. Assets under management at the unit increased by 4% to CHF 2.1
bn during the first half thanks to new money inflows and a positive investment
performance. The bank ended the period with an operating loss of CHF 3.3 mn,
which was not unexpected as assets under management are still low.

Outlook

Bellevue Group has positioned itself as a distinctive financial boutique with a
broad range of innovative investment skills for asset and wealth management
services. Asset Management's momentum will continue to be actively managed,
applying the simple maxim of "grow with the products and innovate". The
admission of BB Biotech AG to the SMIM Index and the SPI Index effective
September 24, 2018 marks another milestone. BB Biotech AG will be the first
investment company to join the SMIM(R)family. Two major innovative products were
recently launched, the BB Adamant Sustainable Healthcare Fund and the BB Pureos
Bioventures. Bellevue displayed its pioneering spirit with the launch of the
first fund, which is focused on sustainability leaders in the healthcare sector,
and of BB Pureos Bioventures, a venture capital fund that invests in private
early-stage companies researching innovative drug therapies. Subscriptions and
capital commitments worth more than CHF 70 mn were already received in the first
round of funding. The total targeted investment volume for the next 12 to 18
months is CHF 200 mn.

At Bank am Bellevue, efforts will focus on growing its business activities after
its successful repositioning as a wealth manager. The top priority is broadening
its asset base and with that, its income base. This will be realized through
organic growth as well as selective acquisitions. For its entrepreneurially
oriented clients value is created by pursuing an active and innovative
investment philosophy and seeking out high-conviction investment ideas.

The full report for the first half of 2018 is available atwww.bellevue.ch

 

Contact

Media / Investor Relations: Daniel Koller, CFO

Telephone +41 44 267 67 00, Fax +41 44 267 67 01,  ir@bellevue.ch

Bellevue Group

Bellevue Group is an independent Swiss asset and wealth management boutique
listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Established in 1993, the company and its
approximately 120 professionals are largely active in the areas of asset
management and wealth management. The Asset Management segment offers a select
range of active equity strategies in fast-growing markets, the healthcare sector
and in other special themes such as owner-managed companies, as well as
successful holistic investment strategies across all traditional asset classes.
Bank am Bellevue offers first-class wealth and investment advisory services with
a special focus on entrepreneurial private clients. The Group's offering of
investment-related solutions is rounded out by other services. These include the
establishment, management and consultation of Investment Offices, trading and
custody services, and selected credit facilities for affluent private clients as
well as institutional clients.
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Additional features:

Document:http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=LAORQUMFMF
Document title: 2018-07-27 MM BBN H1 2018 en

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End of Corporate News
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Language: English

Company:  Bellevue Group AG

          Seestraße 16

          8700 Küsnacht

          Switzerland

Phone:    +41 44 267 67 00

Fax:      +41 44 267 67 01

E-mail:    info@bellevue.ch

Internet: www.bellevue.ch

ISIN:     CH0028422100

Valor:    A0LG3Z

Listed:   SIX Swiss Exchange



 

End of News EQS Group News Service

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