“Our holdings of cash and liquid securities are currently more than three times normal liquidity levels,” he said. “We continue to record strong market shares.”
Moss, who has been chief executive for almost 15 years, will hand over the reins to Moore on May 24. Moore currently heads the investment banking division and had been widely expected to succeed Moss.
If Macquarie earns its forecast profit for fiscal 2008, the banks earnings would have grown thirtyfold during Mosss tenure.
“Its a bit surprise to see Allan go this soon. But its no surprise to see Nicholas Moore take over,” said Rob Patterson, managing director of Argo Investments, adding, “Its a relief to see Macquarie reiterate its forecasts.”
Macquarie shares tumbled 9 percent to 61.10 dollars at the market close Wednesday, partly dragged down by heightened worries about a recession in the United States, and also hurt by Mosss comments about the property sector.
Moss said credit market conditions remained challenging and have affected Macquaries listed real estate funds. He said that if all the unrealized losses on the real estate funds were recognized, the impact on full-year net profit would be about 70 million dollars.
Moss also said he was surprised by the sell-off in real estate investment trusts globally.
The credit crisis has forced banks around the world to write down billions of dollars tied to their exposure to distressed subprime mortgage loans in the United States.
Macquarie, which manages about 228 billion dollars, has not been hit as hard as others by the credit crisis, but rising credit costs and volatile equity markets have cast doubt on its ability to pursue deals.
“Overall activity remained reasonable during the quarter despite volatile market conditions. Macquarie continues to pursue strategic growth initiatives,” Moss said.
Still, in a report released Friday, Citigroup cut its forecasts for Macquaries profit in fiscal 2009 and 2010 because of a bearish outlook for equity markets and mergers.
Macquarie buys airports, toll roads and utility assets across the globe and bundles them into listed and unlisted investment funds, and earns fees for managing the assets.
Citigroup said it expected brokerage and trading businesses to benefit from high volatility in financial markets in the December quarter, but added that base fees would be adversely impacted by the recent drop in equity markets.
Stock Investment February 21st, 2008
