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Cohen & Company Reports Second Quarter 2024 Financial Results

PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK, Aug. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSE American: COHN), a financial services firm specializing in an expanding range of capital markets and asset management services, today reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2024.

Summary Operating Results

      Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
($ in thousands) 6/30/24   3/31/24   6/30/23   6/30/24   6/30/23
                   
Net trading $ 8,798     $ 9,848     $ 7,416     $ 18,646     $ 15,626  
Asset management   2,078       2,717       1,605       4,795       3,630  
New issue and advisory   6,500       24,388       1,395       30,888       2,295  
Principal transactions and other revenue   (6,578 )     (18,389 )     12,156       (24,967 )     9,845  
Total revenues   10,798       18,564       22,572       29,362       31,396  
                                       
Compensation and benefits   10,699       14,839       10,001       25,538       20,538  
Non-compensation operating expenses   6,466       7,100       5,572       13,566       11,342  
Operating income (loss)   (6,367 )     (3,375 )     6,999       (9,742 )     (484 )
                                       
Interest expense, net   (1,425 )     (1,666 )     (1,630 )     (3,091 )     (3,222 )
Income (loss) from equity method affiliates   (5,996 )     29,045       (511 )     23,049       (906 )
Income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)   (13,788 )     24,004       4,858       10,216       (4,612 )
                                       
Income tax expense (benefit)   (205 )     498       5,550       293       6,134  
Net income (loss)   (13,583 )     23,506       (692 )     9,923       (10,746 )
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to the non-convertible non-controlling interest   (5,206 )     16,270       6,503       11,064       6,600  
Enterprise net income (loss)   (8,377 )     7,236       (7,195 )     (1,141 )     (17,346 )
Less: Net income (loss) attributable to the convertible non-controlling interest   (6,028 )     5,213       (594 )     (815 )     (8,108 )
Net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. $ (2,349 )   $ 2,023     $ (6,601 )   $ (326 )   $ (9,238 )
Fully diluted net income (loss) per share $ (1.47 )   $ 1.28     $ (4.34 )   $ (0.20 )   $ (6.14 )
                   
Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) (1) $ (8,582 )   $ 7,734     $ (1,645 )   $ (848 )   $ (11,212 )
Fully diluted adjusted pre-tax income (loss) per share $ (1.51 )   $ 1.37     $ (0.30 )   $ (0.15 )   $ (2.03 )
                                       

(1)   Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) is not a measure recognized under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). See Note 1 below.

Lester Brafman, Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company, said, “We were pleased with the performance of our full-service boutique investment banking operation, Cohen & Company Capital Markets (“CCM”), which generated $6.4 million of advisory revenue and acted as lead bookrunner on two SPAC IPOs. CCM has grown to 24 professionals, and we intend to continue to opportunistically add investment banking professionals to our CCM team. We are optimistic about CCM’s pipeline and look forward to consistent CCM production through the end of the year.

While our second quarter results were weakened by the impact of ongoing unfavorable mark-to-market adjustments on our principal investing portfolio, we are pleased to have improved the Company’s performance at the adjusted pre-tax loss line by $10.4 million year-to-date versus 2023. We remain confident about our future earnings potential and are focused on enhancing long-term, sustained value for our stockholders, including through continued payment of our quarterly dividend.”

Financial Highlights

Total Equity and Dividend Declaration

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET), today, August 5, 2024, to discuss these results. The conference call will be available via webcast. Interested parties can access the webcast by clicking the webcast link on the Company’s homepage at www.cohenandcompany.com. Those wishing to listen to the conference call with operator assistance can dial (877) 524-8416 (domestic) or +1 (412) 902-1028 (international). A replay of the call will be available for three days following the call by dialing (877) 660-6853 or (201) 612-7415, with participant passcode 13748222.

About Cohen & Company

Cohen & Company is a financial services company specializing in an expanding range of capital markets and asset management services. Cohen & Company’s operating segments are Capital Markets, Asset Management, and Principal Investing. The Capital Markets segment consists of fixed income sales, trading, and gestation repo financing as well as new issue placements in corporate and securitized products, and advisory services, operating primarily through Cohen & Company’s subsidiaries, J.V.B. Financial Group, LLC in the United States and Cohen & Company Financial (Europe) S.A. in Europe. A division of JVB, Cohen & Company Capital Markets is the Company’s leading boutique investment bank that provides innovative strategic and financial advice in M&A, capital markets, and SPAC advisory. The Asset Management segment manages assets through collateralized debt obligations, managed accounts, and investment funds. As of June 30, 2024, the Company managed approximately $2.3 billion in primarily fixed income assets in a variety of asset classes including US and European trust preferred securities, subordinated debt, and corporate loans. The Principal Investing segment is comprised primarily of investments the Company holds related to its SPAC franchise and other investments the Company has made for the purpose of earning an investment return rather than investments made to support its trading or other capital markets business activity. For more information, please visit www.cohenandcompany.com.

Note 1: Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) and adjusted pre-tax income (loss) per share are non-GAAP measures of performance. Please see the discussion under “Non-GAAP Measures” below. Also see the tables below for the reconciliations of non-GAAP measures of performance to their corresponding GAAP measures of performance.

Forward-looking Statements

This communication contains certain statements, estimates, and forecasts with respect to future performance and events. These statements, estimates, and forecasts are “forward-looking statements.” In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “seek,” or “continue” or the negatives thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this communication are forward-looking statements and are based on various underlying assumptions and expectations and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, and may include projections of our future financial performance based on our growth strategies and anticipated trends in our business. These statements are based on our current expectations and projections about future events. There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance, or achievements expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition” in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and our website at www.cohenandcompany.com/investor-relations/sec-filings. Such risk factors include the following: (a) a decline in general economic conditions or the global financial markets, including those caused by inflation, raising interest rates, and the current geopolitical situation, (b) losses caused by financial or other problems experienced by third parties, (c) losses due to unidentified or unanticipated risks, (d) a lack of liquidity, i.e., ready access to funds for use in our businesses, (e) the ability to attract and retain personnel, (f) litigation and regulatory issues, (g) competitive pressure, (h) an inability to generate incremental income from new or expanded businesses, (i) unanticipated market closures or effects due to inclement weather or other disasters, (j) losses (whether realized or unrealized) on our principal investments, (k) the possibility that payments to the Company of subordinated management fees from its CDOs will continue to be deferred or will be discontinued, (l) the possibility that the Company’s stockholder rights plan may fail to preserve the value of the Company’s deferred tax assets, whether as a result of the acquisition by a person of 5% of the Company’s common stock or otherwise, (m) the Company’s reduction in the volume of its investments into SPACs, (n) the difficulty in identifying potential business combinations as a result of increased competition in the SPAC market, (o) the value of the Company’s holdings of founders shares in post-business combination companies is volatile and may decline and the possibility that significant portions of the founder shares may remain restricted for a long period of time, (p) the possibility that the Company will stop paying quarterly dividends to its stockholders, (q) the possibility that the Company will incur additional losses liquidating collateral related to a reverse repo with now bankrupt First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation, and (r) the impacts of rising interest rates and inflation. As a result, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this communication will prove to be accurate or correct. In light of these risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, the future performance or events described in the forward-looking statements in this communication might not occur. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results and we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Cautionary Note Regarding Quarterly Financial Results

Due to the nature of our business, our revenue and operating results may fluctuate materially from quarter to quarter. Accordingly, revenue and net income in any particular quarter may not be indicative of future results. Further, our employee compensation arrangements are in large part incentive-based and, therefore, will fluctuate with revenue. The amount of compensation expense recognized in any one quarter may not be indicative of such expense in future periods. As a result, we suggest that annual results may be the most meaningful gauge for investors in evaluating our business performance.

COHEN & COMPANY INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share data)
                       
        Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended  
    6/30/24   3/31/24   6/30/23   6/30/24   6/30/23  
  Revenues                    
  Net trading $ 8,798     $ 9,848     $ 7,416     $ 18,646     $ 15,626    
  Asset management   2,078       2,717       1,605       4,795       3,630    
  New issue and advisory   6,500       24,388       1,395       30,888       2,295    
  Principal transactions and other revenue   (6,578 )     (18,389 )     12,156       (24,967 )     9,845    
  Total revenues   10,798       18,564       22,572       29,362       31,396    
                       
  Operating expenses                    
  Compensation and benefits   10,699       14,839       10,001       25,538       20,538    
  Business development, occupancy, equipment   1,591       1,441       1,318       3,032       2,619    
  Subscriptions, clearing, and execution   2,217       2,086       2,343       4,303       4,468    
  Professional services and other operating   2,533       3,449       1,762       5,982       3,962    
  Depreciation and amortization   125       124       149       249       293    
  Total operating expenses   17,165       21,939       15,573       39,104       31,880    
                                           
  Operating income (loss)   (6,367 )     (3,375 )     6,999       (9,742 )     (484 )  
                       
  Non-operating income (expense)                    
  Interest expense, net   (1,425 )     (1,666 )     (1,630 )     (3,091 )     (3,222 )  
  Income (loss) from equity method affiliates   (5,996 )     29,045       (511 )     23,049       (906 )  
  Income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)   (13,788 )     24,004       4,858       10,216       (4,612 )  
  Income tax expense (benefit)   (205 )     498       5,550       293       6,134    
  Net income (loss)   (13,583 )     23,506       (692 )     9,923       (10,746 )  
  Less: Net income (loss) attributable to the non-convertible non-controlling interest   (5,206 )     16,270       6,503       11,064       6,600    
  Enterprise net income (loss)   (8,377 )     7,236       (7,195 )     (1,141 )     (17,346 )  
  Less: Net income (loss) attributable to the convertible non-controlling interest   (6,028 )     5,213       (594 )     (815 )     (8,108 )  
  Net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. $ (2,349 )   $ 2,023     $ (6,601 )   $ (326 )   $ (9,238 )  
                       
Earnings per share
  Basic                    
  Net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. $ (2,349 )   $ 2,023     $ (6,601 )   $ (326 )   $ (9,238 )  
  Basic shares outstanding   1,616       1,581       1,520       1,599       1,505    
  Net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. per share $ (1.45 )   $ 1.28     $ (4.34 )   $ (0.20 )   $ (6.14 )  
                       
  Fully Diluted                    
  Net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. $ (2,349 )   $ 2,023     $ (6,601 )   $ (326 )   $ (9,238 )  
  Net income (loss) attributable to the convertible non-controlling interest   (6,028 )     5,213             (815 )        
  Income tax and conversion adjustment   18       (31 )           (13 )        
  Net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. for fully diluted net income (loss) per share calculation $ (8,359 )   $ 7,205     $ (6,601 )   $ (1,154 )   $ (9,238 )  
                                           
  Basic shares outstanding   1,616       1,581       1,520       1,599       1,505    
  Unrestricted Operating LLC membership units exchangeable into COHN shares   4,066       4,052             4,059          
  Additional dilutive shares         12                      
  Fully diluted shares outstanding (1)   5,682       5,645       1,520       5,658       1,505    
  Fully diluted net income (loss) per share $ (1.47 )   $ 1.28     $ (4.34 )   $ (0.20 )   $ (6.14 )  
                       
Reconciliation of adjusted pre-tax income (loss) to net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. and calculations of per share amounts
  Net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. $ (2,349 )   $ 2,023     $ (6,601 )   $ (326 )   $ (9,238 )  
  Addback (deduct): Income tax expense (benefit)   (205 )     498       5,550       293       6,134    
  Addback (deduct): Net income (loss) attributable to the convertible non-controlling interest   (6,028 )     5,213       (594 )     (815 )     (8,108 )  
  Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) $ (8,582 )   $ 7,734     $ (1,645 )   $ (848 )   $ (11,212 )  
                       
  Adjusted fully diluted shares outstanding (2)   5,682       5,645       5,535       5,658       5,520    
  Fully diluted adjusted pre-tax income (loss) per share $ (1.51 )   $ 1.37     $ (0.30 )   $ (0.15 )   $ (2.03 )  
                       
  (1) When the fully diluted net income (loss) per share is anti-dilutive, the basic shares outstanding are presented on this line item.  
  (2) Adjusted fully diluted shares outstanding includes (a) weighted average unrestricted and restricted Operating LLC units exchangeable into COHN shares and (b) weighted average unrestricted and restricted shares, even during periods when the corresponding GAAP calculation of fully diluted shares outstanding above does not include them. The Operating LLC units are always included because the non-GAAP measure of performance, adjusted pre-tax income (loss), always includes net income (loss) attributable to the corresponding convertible interest.  
     
COHEN & COMPANY INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands)
           
    June 30, 2024      
    (unaudited)   December 31, 2023  
  Assets        
  Cash and cash equivalents $ 9,575     $ 10,650    
  Receivables from brokers, dealers, and clearing agencies   60,317       66,801    
  Due from related parties   994       772    
  Other receivables   7,851       5,373    
  Investments – trading   122,979       181,328    
  Other investments, at fair value   40,331       72,217    
  Receivables under resale agreements   541,955       408,408    
  Investment in equity method affiliates   29,178       14,241    
  Deferred income taxes   1,630       1,580    
  Goodwill   109       109    
  Right-of-use asset – operating leases   6,596       7,541    
  Other assets   4,498       3,741    
  Total assets $ 826,013     $ 772,761    
           
  Liabilities        
  Payables to brokers, dealers, and clearing agencies $ 67,080     $ 111,085    
  Accounts payable and other liabilities   7,283       8,115    
  Accrued compensation   14,236       17,268    
  Trading securities sold, not yet purchased   47,719       65,751    
  Other investments sold, not yet purchased, at fair value   7,590       24,742    
  Securities sold under agreements to repurchase   541,734       408,203    
  Operating lease liability   7,196       8,216    
  Redeemable financial instruments   7,868       7,868    
  Debt   29,689       29,716    
  Total liabilities   730,395       680,964    
           
  Equity        
  Voting non-convertible preferred stock   27       27    
  Common stock   19       19    
  Additional paid-in capital   75,993       74,594    
  Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (977 )     (944 )  
  Accumulated deficit   (33,397 )     (32,014 )  
  Total stockholders’ equity   41,665       41,682    
  Non-controlling interest   53,953       50,115    
  Total equity   95,618       91,797    
                   
  Total liabilities and equity $ 826,013     $ 772,761    
           
           

Non-GAAP Measures

Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) and adjusted pre-tax income (loss) per diluted share

Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) is not a financial measure recognized by GAAP. Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) represents net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc., computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding income tax expense (benefit), plus the net income (loss) attributable to the convertible non-controlling interest. Income tax expense (benefit) has been excluded because a pre-tax measurement of enterprise earnings that includes net income (loss) attributable to the convertible non-controlling interest is a useful and appropriate measure of performance. Furthermore, our income tax expense (benefit) has been, and we expect it will continue to be, a substantially non-cash item for the foreseeable future, generated from adjustments in our valuation allowance applied to the Company’s gross deferred tax assets. Convertible non-controlling interest is added back to adjusted pre-tax income because the underlying Cohen & Company, LLC equity units are convertible into Cohen & Company Inc. shares. Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) per diluted share is calculated by dividing adjusted pre-tax income (loss) by diluted shares outstanding, both of which include adjustments used in the corresponding calculation in accordance with GAAP.

We present adjusted pre-tax income (loss) and related per diluted share amounts in this release because we consider them to be useful and appropriate supplemental measures of our performance. Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) and related per diluted share amounts help us to evaluate our performance without the effects of certain GAAP calculations that may not have a direct cash or recurring impact on our current operating performance. In addition, our management uses adjusted pre-tax income (loss) and related per diluted share amounts to evaluate the performance of our enterprise operations. Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) and related per diluted share amounts, as we define them, are not necessarily comparable to similarly named measures of other companies and may not be appropriate measures for performance relative to other companies. Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) should not be assessed in isolation from or construed as a substitute for net income (loss) attributable to Cohen & Company Inc. prepared in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted pre-tax income (loss) is not intended to represent and should not be considered to be a more meaningful measure than, or an alternative to, measures of operating performance as determined in accordance with GAAP.

Contact:  
   
Investors – Media –
Cohen & Company Inc. Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
Joseph W. Pooler, Jr. Joseph Sala or Zach Genirs
Executive Vice President and 212-355-4449
Chief Financial Officer  
215-701-8952  
investorrelations@cohenandcompany.com  


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