REG-Ashmore Group Plc <ASHM.L> Interim results - Part 2

. Part 2 : For preceding part double click [nRn1X7618N] 31 December 2008 31 December 2007 30 June 2008 Interim dividend declared per share (p) 3.66 3.66 3.66 Final dividend declared per share (p) - - 8.34 Interim dividend paid(£m) - - 24.9 Dividend per share (p) - - 3.66 Final dividend paid(£m) 57.0 45.2 45.2 Dividend per share (p) 8.34 6.70 6.70 Dividends are recognised in the accounts in the year in which they are paid, or in the case of a final dividend when approved by the shareholders. The board has approved an interim dividend for the six months to 31 December 2008 of 3.66p per share (six months 2007: 3.66p). This will be payable on 24 April 2009 to shareholders on the register on 27 March 2009. 5. Intangible assets 6 months to 6 months to 12 months to 31 December 2008 31 December 2007 30 June 2008 £m £m £m Cost At beginning of period 4.1 4.1 4.1 Additions 2.6 - - At end of period 6.7 4.1 4.1 Net book value 6.7 4.1 4.1 The goodwill balance of £4.1 million at the beginning of the period relates to the acquisition of the business from ANZ in 1999. Goodwill arising in the year relates to the acquisition of Dolomite on 3 November 2008. For further details on this acquisition please refer to note 7. The annual impairment review of goodwill was undertaken at 30 June 2008, and has subsequently been re-performed as at 31 December 2008, in recognition of the extent of subsequent market turmoil. The recoverable amounts of the business are determined based upon future forecast profitability and cash flow projections. The key assumptions on which management has based their projections are the expected fund flows and growth of AuM, which determine management and performance fee income. No impairment was deemed necessary. The business of the Group is managed as a single unit, with asset allocations, research and other such operational practices reflecting the commonality of approach across all fund themes. Therefore, no further split into smaller cash generating units is possible, and the impairment review is conducted for the Group as a whole. 6. Deferred acquisition costs 6 months to 6 months to 12 months to 31 December 2008 31 December 2007 30 June 2008 £m £m £m Cost At beginning of period 14.6 14.5 14.6 At end of period 14.6 14.5 14.6 Accumulated charge At beginning of period 1.2 - - Charge for the period 1.0 - 1.2 At end of period 2.2 - 1.2 Carrying value at end of period 12.4 14.5 13.4 7. Acquisitions On 3 November 2008, the Group acquired a 75% stake in Dolomite Capital Management ("Dolomite"). In addition to the consideration to date outlined in the following table, the Group has made arrangements to be able to acquire the remaining equity of Dolomite Capital Limited, using call and put options. The call option allows the Group to acquire the minority interest stake in full after 2013 whilst the put option allows the minority to sell their ownership interest in full to the Group from 2016. The value of both options is capped, and based on the performance of the underlying business, and will be marked-to-market and held on the Group's balance sheet. At 31 December 2008 this value was negligible. Dolomite is an emerging markets focused fund-of-funds manager and independent advisor on emerging market investments based in New York and had approximately US$0.1 billion of assets under management at 31 December 2008. In the two months to 31 December 2008 the subsidiary contributed net revenue of £0.1 million. Its profit before tax contribution for the same period was negligible. Had the acquisition occurred on 1 July 2008, the impact on the Group's net revenue for the full period would have been £0.4 million accretive, with no impact on the profit before tax. Effect of acquisition The acquisition had the following effect on the Group's assets and liabilities. £m Book value of assets and liabilities acquired at the transactiondate: Trade and other receivables 0.2 Cash and cash equivalents 0.1 Trade and other payables (0.1) Net identifiable assets and liabilities 0.2 Goodwill arising in the Group on acquisition 2.6 Consideration paid, satisfied in cash 2.8 Prepaid compensation 0.9 Net cash outflow for the Group 3.7 8. Own shares The Ashmore 2004 Employee Benefit Trust ("EBT") was established to encourage and facilitate the acquisition and holding of shares in the company by the employees of the company with a view to facilitating the recruitment and motivation of the employees of the company. As at the period end, the EBT owned 33,550,000 ordinary shares of 0.01p with a nominal value of £3,355 and shareholders' funds are reduced by £5.3 million in this respect. 9. Treasury shares In line with authorities granted at the AGM in October 2008 the Company purchased shares which are held in treasury. An analysis of treasury shares is as follows: Treasury shares held by Ashmore Group plc As at As at As at 31 December 2008 31 December 2007 30 June 2008 £m £m £m Ashmore Group plc ordinary shares 6.5 - - Number Number Number Ashmore Group plc ordinary shares 4,966,587 - - Reconciliation of treasury shares Number Number Number At 1 July 2008 - - - Purchase of own shares 4,966,587 - - At 31 December 2008 4,966,587 - - Market value of treasury shares: £m £m £m Ashmore Group plc 6.6 - - 10. Group risks The Group's principal risks remain as detailed within the Business review and Corporate governance report in the Group's Annual Report and are categorised as strategic and business, investment, and operational. 11. Related party transactions There were no material changes to the related party transactions during the six months to 31 December 2008. 12. Post balance sheet events There are no post balance sheet events for the six months to 31 December 2008. RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT of the directors' in respect of the half-yearly financial report We confirm that to the best of our knowledge: * the condensed set of financial statements has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the EU; * the interim management report includes a fair review of the information required by: (a) DTR 4.2.7R of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, being an indication of important events that have occurred during the first six months of the financial year and their impact on the condensed set of financial statements; and a description of the principal risks and uncertainties for the remaining six months of the year; and (b) DTR 4.2.8R of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules, being related party transactions that have taken place in the first six months of the current financial year and that have materially affected the financial position or performance of the entity during that period; and any changes in the related party transactions described in the last annual report that could do so. Mark CoombsChief Executive Officer24 February 2009 INDEPENDENT REVIEW REPORT to Ashmore Group plc Introduction We have been engaged by the company to review the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 December 2008 which comprises the consolidated income statement, consolidated balance sheet, consolidated statement of changes in equity, consolidated cash flow statement and the related explanatory notes. We have read the other information contained in the half-yearly financial report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the information in the condensed set of financial statements. This report is made solely to the company in accordance with the terms of our engagement to assist the company in meeting the requirements of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules ("the DTR") of the UK's Financial Services Authority ("the UK FSA"). Our review has been undertaken so that we might state to the company those matters we are required to state to it in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company for our review work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have reached. Directors' responsibilities The half-yearly financial report is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the half-yearly financial report in accordance with the DTR of the UK FSA. As disclosed in note one, the annual financial statements of the Ashmore Group plc are prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the EU. The condensed set of financial statements included in this half-yearly financial report has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as adopted by the EU. Our responsibility Our responsibility is to express to the company a conclusion on the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report based on our review. Scope of review We conducted our review in accordance with International Standard of Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410 "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity" issued by the Auditing Practices Board for the use in the UK. A review of interim financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and applying analytical and other review procedures. A review is substantially less in scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) and consequently does not enable us to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion. Conclusion Based on our review, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the condensed set of financial statements in the half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 December 2008 is not prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted by the EU and the DTR of the UK FSA. KPMG Audit Plc Chartered AccountantsOne Canada Square London E14 5AG 24 February 2009 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange END IR CKNKDKBKBQBB