NEW YORK, April 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cowen Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN) today announced its operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Jeffrey M. Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cowen, said, "Even though the first quarter of 2020 was the most challenging period for financial markets in more than a decade, Cowen performed well operationally. We had very strong financial performance in January and February followed by a difficult March which was driven largely by negative investment performance. We moved quickly to shift over 98% of our team to working remotely, keeping our employees safe and healthy even as we handled record trading volumes, and significantly reduced risk on our balance sheet. We have maintained strong client engagement, gained share in our markets business and continue to have a substantial pipeline in both M&A advisory and capital markets activities. While there is still uncertainty about when and how the economy will return to a more normal state, we believe that we are very well positioned in all of our businesses to help our clients outperform.”

First Quarter 2020 Operating Highlights (Non-GAAP)

Throughout this press release the Company presents Economic Income financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP. For a more complete description of Economic Income (Loss) and a reconciliation of GAAP net income (loss) to Economic Income (Loss) for the periods presented and additional information regarding the reconciling adjustments, please see the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section of this press release.

• Operating Company Segment Profitable
  • Generated 1Q20 Op Co Economic Income of $4.3 million and Op Co Economic Operating Income of $9.7 million.
• Record markets revenues in volatile trading environment:
  • Markets revenue, which includes brokerage, financing and other revenue, was a record $132.4 million ($2.1 million/day) even after the impact of providing client liquidity and lowering risk in securities finance and special situations.
  • Posted strong performances in cash equities, electronic trading, European trading, derivatives and prime brokerage.
• Second-highest investment banking revenues despite March slowdown:
  • Outperformance driven by strong capital markets activity in January and February, particularly in healthcare.
  • Revenue/industry diversification: 34% of IB revenue was advisory, comprised of 20% M&A and 14% capital markets advisory. Best debt advisory quarter in 5+ years.
  • Strong client engagement: Completed 10 M&A/Capital markets transactions in March despite volatile environment
• Invested capital repositioned to reduce risk:
  • Investment income losses in 1Q20 were small relative to steep market declines across asset classes.
  • Reduced investment exposure in portfolio and increased hedging at the beginning of March. Participating in rally in asset prices and spread tightening in April.

Capital Optimization Update

Share Repurchase Plan

In the first quarter of 2020, the Company repurchased $18.0 million of its common stock, or 1,383,657 shares, at an average price of $13.02 under the Company's existing share repurchase program, representing the largest quarterly repurchase amount in more than four years.

Outside the share repurchase program, in the first quarter of 2020 the Company acquired approximately $2.8 million of shares as a result of a net share settlement relating to the vesting of equity awards, or 228,557 shares, at an average price of $12.36.

Quarterly Cash Dividend

The Company maintained its quarterly cash dividend payable on its common stock. On April 24, 2020, the Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.04 per common share, payable on June 15, 2020, to stockholders of record on June 1, 2020.

First Quarter 2020 Financial Review (GAAP)

First quarter 2020 revenue was $313.8 million compared to $224.1 million in the first quarter of 2019.

First quarter 2020 net loss attributable to common stockholders was $11.6 million compared to net income of $8.1 million in the first quarter of 2019.

First quarter interest and dividend expense was $38.8 million compared to $29.1 million in the prior-year period.

First quarter employee compensation and benefits expense was $124.4 million, a decrease of $7.5 million from the prior-year period.

First quarter operating, general, administrative and other expenses was $88.1 million, an increase of $10.1 million from the prior-year period.

First quarter depreciation and amortization expense was $5.4 million, an increase of $0.5 million to compared to the prior-year period.

First quarter income tax benefit was $1.2 million compared to an expense of $3.2 million in the prior-year quarter.

Economic Income Revenue was $211.0 million versus $233.3 million in the first quarter of 2019, a decrease of 10%.

Investment Banking revenues of $98.8 million were up 19% versus the prior-year period, driven by stronger ECM activity in life sciences and healthcare tools and diagnostics. These sectors have remained active in April, even in this environment.

Brokerage revenues of $132.7 million were up 19% versus the prior-year period. Cash trading, electronic trading, derivatives and prime brokerage all posted strong year-over-year revenue growth. While trading volumes have declined since the peak in March, Cowen's average daily brokerage revenues in April have been higher than in March.

Management Fees rose 43% year-over-year to $14.9 million in the first quarter, the highest quarterly level in more than three years. Cowen Investment Management's private healthcare strategy continued to raise capital in March, and investor interest in healthcare opportunities remains strong.

Incentive Income posted a loss of $4.9 million in the first quarter of 2020, down from income of $16.7 million in the prior-year period. First quarter 2020 incentive income reflects a loss of $2.4 million in Asset Co as well as a reversal of unrealized performance fees in the healthcare strategy and in non-core Asset Co investments, partially offset by incentive income in the activist strategy.

Investment Income posted a loss of $31.1 million, down from income of $10.3 million in the prior-year period. The first quarter 2020 loss includes markdowns in Asset Co investments of $11.7 million and was also due in part to weaker performance in the event driven strategy, the healthcare strategy and the activist strategy.

Total expenses were $213.7 million compared to $209.9 million in the prior-year period.

Compensation and benefits expense was $125.7 million compared to $131.9 million in the first quarter of 2019. The decrease was due to lower revenues, which resulted in a lower compensation and benefits accrual. Despite the decrease in the compensation accrual amount, the first quarter 2020 compensation-to-revenue ratio rose to 59.6%, up from 56.5% in the prior-year period. The Op Co compensation-to-revenue ratio was 55.6% in the first quarter of 2020.

Fixed non-compensation expenses increased $2.6 million in the prior-year period to $37.5 million. The increase was due in part to higher expenses for trading software applications which have a variable component in times of elevated trading activity.

Variable non-compensation expenses were $43.3 million, up from $37.1 million in the first quarter of 2019. The increase is related in part to higher brokerage and trade execution costs due to increased volumes.

Economic Operating Income, which represents Economic Income attributable to common stockholders before depreciation and amortization, was a loss of $6.8 million for the first quarter of 2020, down from $20.2 million in the prior-year period. First quarter 2020 Economic Operating Income for Op Co was $9.7 million, while Asset Co Economic Operating loss was $16.5 million.

Assets Under Management As of March 31, 2020, the Company had assets under management of $10.8 billion, a decrease of $0.6 billion and $0.8 billion from December 31, 2019 and March 31, 2019, respectively.

Business Segment Results

Change in Segments

During the second quarter of 2019, the Company changed its segment reporting structure based on the Company's domain expertise as a driver of harmonized repeatable revenue for its operating business versus the Company’s long-term monetization strategies. The Operating Company ("Op Co") and Asset Company ("Asset Co") reporting structure provides investors with greater insight into the profitability of the Company's operating business, the impact of Asset Co holdings on overall profitability and the monetization potential of legacy investments.

• The Op Co segment consists of four divisions: Cowen Investment Management, Investment Banking, Markets, and Research. Each of Op Co’s four divisions leverage the Research division’s core domain expertise to drive harmonized repeatable revenue for the segment.
• The Asset Co segment consists of certain of the Company’s private investments, private real estate investments and other legacy strategies.

Operating Company Segment

As of March 31, 2020, the Company had invested capital in Op Co totaling $539.9 million.

Op Co revenues were $224.8 million, a decrease of $7.0 million from the first quarter of 2019.

First quarter Op Co Economic Income was $4.3 million versus $17.5 million in the prior-year quarter.

First quarter Economic Operating Income was $9.7 million versus $22.5 in the prior-year quarter.

Brokerage revenue was $132.7 million, an increase of $20.8 million from the first quarter of 2019.

First quarter investment banking revenue was $98.8 million, a 19% increase over the prior-year quarter.

First quarter management fees were $14.7 million, up from $9.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

First quarter incentive income was a loss of $2.5 million compared to income of $16.6 million in the prior-year quarter.

First quarter investment income was a loss of $19.4 million compared to income of $9.4 million in the prior-year quarter.

Asset Company Segment

As of April 1, 2020, the Company had invested capital in Asset Co totaling $126.7 million, a reduction of $9.3 million from the invested capital invested as of January 1, 2020.

The largest investments were in Italian wireless broadband provider Linkem ($69.7 million), private equity funds Formation8/Eclipse ($39.4 million) and private real estate holdings ($6.2 million).

First quarter economic income revenue was a loss of $13.9 million versus revenues of $1.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

First quarter management fees were $0.2 million compared to $0.7 million in the prior-year quarter.

First quarter incentive income was a loss of $2.4 million compared to income of $0.1 million in the prior-year quarter.

First quarter investment income was a loss of $11.7 million compared to income of $0.8 million in the prior-year quarter. The loss was due primarily to a decline in the valuation of Linkem (-$4.6 million) and the private real estate holdings (-$7.3 million).

About Cowen Inc.
Cowen Inc. (“Cowen” or the “Company”) is a diversified financial services firm offering investment banking services, research, sales and trading, prime brokerage, global clearing, commission management services and investment management. Cowen focuses on delivering value-added capabilities to our clients in order to help them outperform. Founded in 1918, the Company is headquartered in New York and has offices worldwide. Learn more at Cowen.com