TORONTO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - The head of Canadian wealth management company DundeeWealth Inc said on Wednesday the company's stock is undervalued in relation to its peers and does not reflect revenue, profit or cost-cutting efforts.
'DundeeWealth trades at valuations that in some cases are half what our competitors trade at,' said David Goodman, chief executive and president. 'As a percentage of assets under management, Dundeewealth trades at around 5.4 percent, with some of our competitors trading at about twice that.'
DundeeWealth shares rose 0.04 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday to C$11.14, compared with a year-earlier high of C$13.45, and its low for the year of C$3.81, hit in December last year.
DundeeWealth oversees C$62.5 billion in fee earning assets.
Goodman, a former analyst, said meetings with institutional investors revealed concerns about transparency and efficiency. He said many of those concerns have been addressed.
In the past year, he said the company had cut costs by C$50 million, slashed head count and cut debt, while boosting assets under management.
He said dividends have also been raised to bring the company's policy closer to the practices of competitors. He also said DundeeWealth is looking at growth opportunities in Canada and abroad as it pushes to increase revenue.
($1=$1.07 Canadian)
(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins and Pav Jordan; editing by Peter Galloway) Keywords: DUNDEE/ (andrea.hopkins@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8159; Reuters Messaging:andrea.hopkins.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'DundeeWealth trades at valuations that in some cases are half what our competitors trade at,' said David Goodman, chief executive and president. 'As a percentage of assets under management, Dundeewealth trades at around 5.4 percent, with some of our competitors trading at about twice that.'
DundeeWealth shares rose 0.04 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday to C$11.14, compared with a year-earlier high of C$13.45, and its low for the year of C$3.81, hit in December last year.
DundeeWealth oversees C$62.5 billion in fee earning assets.
Goodman, a former analyst, said meetings with institutional investors revealed concerns about transparency and efficiency. He said many of those concerns have been addressed.
In the past year, he said the company had cut costs by C$50 million, slashed head count and cut debt, while boosting assets under management.
He said dividends have also been raised to bring the company's policy closer to the practices of competitors. He also said DundeeWealth is looking at growth opportunities in Canada and abroad as it pushes to increase revenue.
($1=$1.07 Canadian)
(Reporting by Andrea Hopkins and Pav Jordan; editing by Peter Galloway) Keywords: DUNDEE/ (andrea.hopkins@thomsonreuters.com; +1 416 941 8159; Reuters Messaging:andrea.hopkins.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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