Legg Mason Inc.'s fiscal fourth-quarter loss rose on charges related to its elimination of structured investment vehicles, and the money manager slashed its quarterly dividend 88%, to 3 cents a share.
Amid troubles in the asset-backed commercial paper market, Legg Mason has taken steps to protect itself from related losses by providing extra support for its money market funds. In April it removed the last of the SIV-issued risky securities it had held.
The Baltimore company, whose fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, said Tuesday that it has reorganized its business into two divisions — Americas and international — as it looks to better align its resources to new growth opportunities.
Legg Mason posted a loss of $325.1 million, or $2.29 a share, for the three months, compared with a year-earlier loss of $255.5 million, or $1.81 a share. The results included, as expected, a charge of $2.59 a share for eliminating all remaining SIVs from its money market funds. The charge was not larger because the company has already sharply written the instruments down.
Revenue fell 42%, to $617.2 million. On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of $2.33 on revenue of $611 million.
