Janus Henderson Group plc (JHG) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Welcome to the Janus Henderson Group 2021 Annual General Meeting. I'm Michelle Rosenberg, General Counsel and Company Secretary of Janus Henderson Group plc. Similar to last year, due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, I will chair the Annual General Meeting today. Certain matters discussed at today's meeting may constitute forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, those described in the forward-looking statements and Risk Factors sections of the company's most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and other filings made with the SEC. Janus Henderson assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during the call. Joining me by teleconference today are the members of your Board of Directors. A quorum is present, so we can open the annual General meeting. We will start with a brief address by Richard Gillingwater, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and then we'll move to the formal items of business that are listed in the notice of Annual General Meeting. I'll turn the call over to Richard now.

Thank you, Michelle. Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I hope all of you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. And I must make an apology for my voice, which is fading. Over the past 1.5 year, the COVID pandemic has created challenges across the spectrum. And although we have seen many advancements over the past several months, bringing us hope that society and industry may return to normal. Many challenges persist, particularly in the developing world. Nevertheless, management and the Board's #1 priority remains ensuring we maintain business resilience, providing a safe working environment for our employees and continuing to deliver for our clients. I'd like to touch briefly on the firm's performance over the past year. I'm encouraged by the progress made in 2020. Made possible by the commitment and exceptional efforts of our colleagues. Despite disappointing outflows in 2020, particularly in the first half of the year, the firm finished the year with $401.6 billion of assets under management, an increase of 7% from the prior year-end. Driven by strong global markets and solid investment performance. Compared to 2019, our adjusted operating margin improved 200 basis points to 38% and our adjusted earnings per share improved 22% to $3.01. Throughout the year, we made significant progress on delivering our strategy of simple excellence. Across each strategic pillar, details of which were given in the year-end results call in February. Simple excellence continues to form a strong foundation for a stable and resilient business, which we believe will support sustained growth in the long run. Earlier today, we reported our first quarter results. Despite net outflows of $3.3 billion, AUM increased 1% to $405.1 billion, and we remain solidly profitable. Generating $201.5 million in adjusted operating income and $0.91 in adjusted EPS for the quarter. Management and the Board continue to take an active and disciplined approach to capital management. And today, we announced that the Board declared a $0.38 per share dividend. An increase of 6% to the quarterly dividend. We also completed a $230 million stock repurchase in the quarter. As part of our participation in the secondary offering of our shares by Dai-ichi Life, which monetized its equity stake in Janus Henderson. This capital return to shareholders, including the $394 million returned in 2020 through dividends and buybacks, exemplifies our dedication to active capital management, balancing the needs and investment opportunities of the business with shareholder interest. Before concluding, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Dai-ichi Life Holdings for being a supportive shareholder and partner over the past 8 years. And I'd particularly like to thank Tast Yamamoto for his service and collaboration while representing by Dai-ichi and our Board. We look forward to future opportunities to support the growth of each other's businesses through our new strategic cooperation agreement. I would also like to welcome Alison Davis, who is appointed as an independent non-Executive Director in February and who brings to the Board extensive financial leadership experience as a corporate executive and years of consulting experience as a strategic adviser. In conclusion, we remain encouraged about the prospects for the business. As our business fundamentals remains solid, and as we continue to make significant progress towards our long-term strategic objectives. On behalf of the Board, I'd like to express gratitude to our leadership team led by CEO, Dick Weil, to all our employees for their dedication and hard work and to our clients and shareholders for their continued support. Finally, I would like to thank my Board colleagues for all their support. And I'll now hand back to you, Michelle.

Thank you, Richard. Now to the formal items of business. A Notice of Annual General Meeting was sent or made available to all Janus Henderson Group shareholders, and I hope your content, I will not read out the notice in full. I remind you of the votes needed to pass the resolutions as required by our articles. Resolutions 1 to 12, as ordinary resolutions, require votes in favor of more than 50% of the votes cast. Resolutions 13 and 14, as special resolutions require votes in favor of at least 2/3. I will proceed and now begin with the first resolution. Resolution 1 is to receive the Director's report and accounts. Resolution 2 is to approve the reappointment of Ms. Davis as a director. Resolution 3 is to approve the reappointment of Ms. Desai as a director. Resolution 4 approves the reappointment of Mr. Diermeier. Resolution 5 approves the reappointment of Mr. Dolan. Resolution 6 approves the reappointment of Mr. Flood Jr. Resolution 7 approves the reappointment of Mr. Gillingwater. Resolution 8 approves the reappointment of Mr. Kochard. Resolution 9 approves the reappointment of Mr. Schafer. Resolution 10 approves the reappointment of Ms. Seymour-Jackson. Resolution 11 approves the reappointment of Mr. Weil. And Resolution 12 approves the reappointment of PwC as auditors of the company and renews the Audit committee's authority to agree to their remuneration. And finally, the last 2 resolutions. Resolution 13 authorizes the company to purchase its own shares to a limited extent, and Resolution 14 authorizes the company to purchase its own CDIs to a limited extent. That completes the summary of the resolutions. We will now conduct the polls for the resolutions in the Notice of Annual General Meeting. I appoint Rene Del Real of Computershare as the inspector of election, also known as the returning Officer for the conduct of the polls. If there are shareholders present in Denver who have not submitted their voting cards yet, please do so now. I now direct the Inspector of Election to count the votes and to report those results to me. [Voting]

The Inspector of Election has provided me with his preliminary report on the voting. All resolutions have received sufficient votes to pass and are, therefore, adopted. Final voting results will be announced to the New York Stock Exchange and the ASX and will also be published on our website. That concludes the formal business of the AGM, and I declare the meeting closed. I thank you for being loyal shareholders of Janus Henderson, and we look forward to welcoming you to the AGM for Janus Henderson next year.