Public disclosure of inside information pursuant to Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014

Lloyd Fonds AG: considerable increase in earnings expected for financial year 2020 - company lifts forecasts for consolidated profit in the 2nd half of 2020 and forecast for consolidated EBITDA in the 2nd half of 2020 and in the 2020 financial year

- Management Board lifts forecast following positive FONDS performance

- Positive EAT of at least EUR 1.5 million expected for H2 2020

- Positive EBITDA of at least EUR 3.2 million expected for H2 2020

- Positives EBITDA 2020 of at least EUR 1.0 expected

Hamburg, 14 December 2020.

Management Board lifts forecast following positive FONDS performance 
Following a very positive development of capital markets in November 2020, which translated into considerable additional performance for all investment funds managed by the Lloyd Fonds group, the Management Board of Lloyd Fonds AG (Deutsche Börse Scale, ISIN: DE000A12UP29) expects a substantial contribution to earnings in the 2020 financial year from the active fund management business within the LLOYD FONDS segment. In particular, the Lloyd Fonds - WHC Global Discovery (WHC), a multi-asset fund, achieved a year-to-date performance of around 16 % (in its R-tranche) by 4 December 2020, with the fund price achieving an all-time high. Taking the current market environment and the 11 remaining trading days for the year into account, the Management Board of Lloyd Fonds AG considers it sufficiently probable that the performance of the WHC fund will not deteriorate considerably in average market circumstances by year-end. As a result, the company expects revenues from a performance-related fee generated by the WHC fund of at least EUR 7.5 million for the 2020 financial year. The actual figure could still, however, deviate from this forecast due to potential fluctuations in the fund price in the period leading up to the cut-off date of 30 December 2020 for invoicing the performance-related fee, particularly in light of the ongoing uncertainty in financial markets due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since its launch on 1 October 2010, the WHC fund has averaged an annual return of more than 9.75 %. With an annual performance at this level and a current volume of around EUR 500 million, the fund can be expected to generate more than EUR 5 million in performance fee p.a. given its hurdle rate of 4 %. The hurdle rate is the return threshold for an actively managed fund that a fund manager has to surpass in order to generate a performance-related fee.

The Management Board did not include any performance-related fees in its previous earnings guidance given the Covid-19 situation, and now expects earnings to increase considerably at group level in the 2020 financial year with these fees included.

Positive EAT of at least EUR 1.5 million expected for H2 2020
Taking into account the performance-fee that the WHC fund is expected to generate, the Management Board expects a consolidated profit (EAT: earnings after taxes) for the second half of 2020, before non-controlling interests, of at least EUR 1.5 million (H1 2020: EUR -3.8 million).

The new forecast would clearly outstrip the guidance published on 26 August 2020, which assumed a break-even result in the second half of 2020.

Positive EBITDA of at least EUR 3.2 million expected for H2 2020 and positive EBITDA expected in 2020 with at least EUR 1.0 million
The Group's operating result before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to reach at least EUR 3.2 million in the second half of 2020 (H1 2020: EUR -2.4 million).

Following on from the positive fund performance year-to-date and the assumption of limited fluctuations until year-end, the Management Board expects for the 2020 financial year positive EBITDA of at least EUR 1.0 million overall. Compared with the previous year, in which EBITDA was still negative at EUR -9.7 million, the 2020 forecast for the first time reflects the positive effects resulting from the integration of SPSW Capital GmbH into the Lloyd Fonds group.

Important information:
The information set out above, particularly the information regarding the earnings performance of Lloyd Fonds AG and the performance-related fees, explicitly reflects preliminary results. Depending on how the capital markets develop, it is still subject to change between now and year-end.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT ARE NOT INTENDED FOR PUBLICATION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, TO BE PUBLISHED OR DISCLOSED IN, WITHIN OR FROM THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE SUCH A PUBLICATION OR DISCLOSURE WOULD CONSITUTE A BREACH OF APPLICABLE LEGAL PROVISIONS OF THE COUNTRY IN QUESTION.

Contact:

Hendrik Duncker
IR/PR
Lloyd Fonds AG
An der Alster 42
20099 Hamburg
Tel: +49-40-325678-145
Fax: +49-40-325678-99
E-mail: [email protected]