ABGSC - Q4 2022 Interim Report

08 Feb 2023 08:00 CET

Highlights:

· Q4 revenues of NOK 508m (NOK 803m)
· 2022 FY revenues of NOK 1,704m (NOK 2,911m)
· 2022 diluted EPS of NOK 0.50
· Proposed cash dividend of NOK 0.50 per share
· Solid and diversified pipeline for 2023

CEO comment:

After close to two years with various COVID measures and macroeconomic stimuli,
2022 represented everything but a return to normality. The Ukraine war, energy
shortages, massive inflation and increased interest rates resulted in volatile
and unpredictable markets with a significant drop in investors' appetite for
risk.

Although 2022 revenues were well below the levels of the outstanding 2021, full
-year revenues of NOK 1.7bn is still a solid achievement in light of market
sentiment. As the year progressed and capital markets became less accessible, it
became increasingly important to provide quality advice in relation to corporate
M&A as well as research and flow matching services for investors trading in the
secondary market for equities and bonds.

During the fourth quarter, equity markets improved slightly, supporting some
equity capital raising activity and M&A processes. The market for high yield
debt issuance was open for limited periods during the quarter.

We continuously monitor our cost base to ensure a lean and efficient operation.
Furthermore, when markets are challenging, it is instrumental to improve the
relative market position. Therefore, I would particularly like to highlight our
increased market share in the Nordics in the high yield DCM segment in
combination with our longstanding leading position in Norwegian M&A. The
positions are further evidenced by the #1 and #2 rankings within the Prospera
Corporate Finance client surveys in Norway and Sweden, respectively. Also, the
corresponding equity research and brokerage surveys confirmed our top-ranked
positions.

Our 2023 pipeline remains solid and with a better balance between corporate
financing and advisory mandates than at the same time last year.

We aim to continue to improve our relative position within our current core
offering, but we are also looking forward to initiating the work of expanding
our franchise in the fields of private banking and a specialised alternative
investment offering with a focus on real estate and infrastructure. We have
great ambitions for these new business areas, which will enable us to leverage
on our existing operations and further broaden and diversify our revenue mix.

For further information:

Jonas Strom, CEO                                +46 8 566 294 68

Geir B. Olsen, CFO                               +47 22 01 60 35

Please find attached the Q4 Interim Report. A presentation will be held as a
webcast at 09:00 CET and can be accessed through a weblink or call-in details
presented on our corporate website www.abgsc.com.

This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU
Market Abuse Regulation article 7 and is subject to the disclosure requirements
pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock
exchange announcement was submitted for publication, through the agency of the
contact persons set out above, at 08:00 CET on 8 February 2023.

More information:
Access the news on Oslo Bors NewsWeb site

581640_ABGSC_2022_Q4_report.pdf
581640_ABGSC_2022_Q4_Stock_Exchange_Release_8_February.pdf