Cohen & Company Reports Third Quarter 2020 Financial Results

11/4/20

PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK, Nov. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cohen & Company Inc. (NYSE American: COHN), a financial services firm specializing in fixed income markets, today reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2020.

  • Net income was $3.3 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2020, compared to net income of $3.3 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2020, and net loss of ($1.9) million, or ($1.06) per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2019. Adjusted net income was $4.2 million, or $1.19 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2020, compared to adjusted net income of $4.0 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2020, and adjusted net loss of ($1.9) million, or ($1.06) per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2019. Adjusted net income (loss) is not a measure recognized under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). See Note 1 on page 5.
  • Revenues during the three months ended September 30, 2020 decreased $2.3 million from the prior quarter and increased $10.6 million from the prior year quarter.
    • The decrease from the prior quarter was comprised primarily of (i) a decrease of $3.0 million in net trading revenue primarily from decreased revenue in the Company’s GCF repo and Corporate trading groups, which was net of an increase of $3.1 million in the Company’s Gestation repo revenue, partially offset by (ii) an increase of $0.5 million in new issue and advisory revenue related to a U.S. insurance transaction, and (iii) an increase of $0.3 million in principal transactions revenue related to mark-to-market gains on the Company’s principal investment portfolio.
    • The increase from the prior year quarter was comprised primarily of (i) an increase of $8.5 million in net trading revenue primarily from a $6.6 million increase in Gestation repo revenue and a $1.1 million increase in Corporate trading group revenue, (ii) an increase of $2.3 million in principal transactions related to mark-to-market gains on the Company’s principal investment portfolio, (iii) an increase of $0.3 million in new issue and advisory revenue related to a U.S. insurance transaction, partially offset by (iv) a decrease of $0.4 million in asset management revenue related to higher revenue in the prior-year quarter related to the liquidation of a European CLO.
  • Compensation and benefits expense as a percentage of revenue was 50% for the three months ended September 30, 2020, compared to 47% for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 62% for the three months ended September 30, 2019. The number of Company employees was 87 as of September 30, 2020, compared to 94 as of June 30, 2020, and 90 as of September 30, 2019.
  • Non-compensation operating expenses during the three months ended September 30, 2020 were comparable to the prior quarter and increased $0.1 million from the prior year quarter. The increase from the prior year quarter was primarily due to higher professional fees.
  • Interest expense during the three months ended September 30, 2020 decreased $1.1 million from the prior quarter and increased $0.4 million from the prior year quarter. The changes in quarterly interest expense are primarily driven by fluctuations in interest on redeemable financial instruments, which are driven by certain Company groups’ revenues and profits.
  • Loss from equity method affiliates during the three months ended September 30, 2020 increased $0.1 million from the prior quarter and $1.3 million from the prior year quarter. The increase in loss from equity method affiliates was primarily related to expenses incurred by the Company-sponsored Insurance Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses. On October 13, 2020, Insurance Acquisition Corp. completed its merger with Shift Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SFT) (see below for more details).
  • As of September 30, 2020, total equity was $47.8 million, compared to $48.8 million as of December 31, 2019.

Lester Brafman, Chief Executive Officer of Cohen & Company, said, “We are pleased with our third quarter results, particularly on the broker-dealer side where we continued to strengthen our Gestation Repo business, with balances increasing to $2.9 billion by the end of the quarter. Additionally, we are excited to announce positive developments in our SPAC business. Recently, subsequent to quarter end, our first company-sponsored Insurance SPAC, Insurance Acquisition Corp., closed its merger with Shift Technologies, Inc., and during the quarter, our second company-sponsored Insurance SPAC, INSU Acquisition Corp. II, raised $230 million in an initial public offering of its units. We are active in multiple aspects of the SPAC market, including as a sponsor, asset manager and investor. Our team has a long history in the SPAC space, and we intend to continue growing our SPAC franchise and capitalizing on opportunities in the space. We are enthusiastic about our business going forward, and we remain committed to executing on our strategic priorities, with a continued focus on enhancing stockholder value.”

INSU Acquisition Corp. II Initial Public Offering

The Company is the manager of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor II, LLC (“IAS II”) and Dioptra Advisors II, LLC (“Dioptra II” and, together with IAS II, the “Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities”). The Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities are sponsors of INSU Acquisition Corp. II (“Insurance SPAC II”), a blank check company that will seek to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (each a “Insurance SPAC II Business Combination”). On September 8, 2020, the Insurance SPAC II completed the sale of 23,000,000 units ("Insurance SPAC II Units") in its IPO.

Each Insurance SPAC II Unit consists of one share of the Insurance SPAC II's Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Insurance SPAC II Common Stock”), and one-third of one warrant (each, a “Insurance SPAC II Warrant”), where each whole Insurance SPAC II Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock for $11.50 per share. The Insurance SPAC II Units were sold in the IPO at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, for gross proceeds of $230,000,000 (before underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses). Immediately following the completion of the IPO, there were an aggregate of 31,386,667 shares of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock issued and outstanding.

If Insurance SPAC II fails to consummate a Business Combination within the first 18 months following the IPO and is unable to obtain an extension, its corporate existence will cease except for the purposes of winding up its affairs and liquidating its assets. The Company currently consolidates the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities and treats the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities' investment in the Insurance SPAC II as an equity method investment.

The Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities purchased 452,500 of the Insurance SPAC II placement units in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the IPO for an aggregate of $4,525,000, or $10.00 per placement unit. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the underwriter of the IPO, also purchased 87,500 of the Insurance SPAC II’s placement units in the private placement for an aggregate of $875,000. Each placement unit consists of one share of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock and one-third of one warrant (the “Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrant”). The placement units are identical to the Insurance SPAC II Units sold in the IPO except (i) the shares of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock issued as part of the placement units and the Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants will not be redeemable by Insurance SPAC II, (ii) the Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis, (iii) the shares of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock issued as part of the placement units, together with the Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants, are entitled to certain registration rights, and (iv) for so long as they are held by the IPO underwriter, the Insurance SPAC II placement units will not be exercisable more than five years following the effective date of the registration statement filed by the Insurance SPAC II in connection with the IPO. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the placement units (including the underlying Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants and Insurance SPAC II Common Stock and the shares of Insurance SPAC II Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Insurance SPAC II Placement Warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the Insurance SPAC II Business Combination.

In addition, the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities collectively hold 7,846,667 founder shares of Insurance SPAC II. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable or salable except (a) with respect to 20% of such shares, until consummation of a Business Combination, and (b) with respect to additional 20% tranches of such shares, when the closing price of the Insurance SPAC II Common Stock exceeds $12.00, $13.50, $15.00 and $17.00, respectively, for 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days following the consummation of the Insurance SPAC II Business Combination. Certain executive and key employees of the Company purchased membership interests in Dioptra II and have an interest in the Insurance SPAC II’s founder shares through such membership interests.

The number of founders shares eventually retained by the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities and in which such executives and key employees have an interest through the Insurance SPAC II Sponsor Entities will not be finally determined until the Insurance SPAC II Business Combination is complete.

Insurance Acquisition Corp. Merger with Shift Technologies, Inc.

The Company is the manager of Insurance Acquisition Sponsor, LLC (“IAS”) and Dioptra Advisors, LLC (“Dioptra” and, together with IAS, the “Sponsor Entities”). The Sponsor Entities were sponsors of Insurance Acquisition Corp. ("Insurance SPAC"), a special purpose acquisition company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or similar business combination with one or more businesses.

On June 29, 2020, Insurance SPAC entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Insurance SPAC Merger Agreement”) with IAC Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and direct wholly owned subsidiary of Insurance SPAC (“Insurance SPAC Merger Sub”), and Shift Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Shift”). On October 13, 2020, Insurance SPAC Merger Sub was merged (the “Insurance SPAC Merger”) with and into Shift (the “Closing”). In connection with the Insurance SPAC Merger, the Insurance SPAC changed its name from “Insurance Acquisition Corp.” to “Shift Technologies, Inc.” and, on October 15, 2020, the Insurance SPAC’s NASDAQ trading symbol changed from "INSU" to “SFT.” The Insurance SPAC Merger was approved by the Insurance SPAC’s stockholders at a special meeting of stockholders held on October 13, 2020.

Upon the Closing, the Sponsor Entities held 375,000 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“SFT Class A Common Stock”), and 187,500 warrants (“SFT Warrants”) to purchase an equal number of shares of SFT Class A Common Stock (such SFT Class A Common Stock and SFT Warrants, collectively, the “Placement Securities”) as a result of the 375,000 placement units, which the Sponsor Entities had purchased in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the Insurance SPAC’s initial public offering on March 22, 2019. Further, upon the Closing, the Sponsor Entities collectively held an additional 4,497,525 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock as a result of its previous purchase of founder shares of the Insurance SPAC (collectively, the “Founder Shares,” and, together with the Placement Securities, the “Sponsor Shares”).

The Company currently consolidates the Sponsor Entities and previously treated its investment in the Insurance SPAC as an equity method investment. Effective upon the Closing, the Company has reclassified its equity method investment in the Insurance SPAC to other investments, at fair value and has adopted fair value accounting for the investment in SFT, resulting in an amount of principal transaction revenue derived from the (i) the final amount of Sponsor Shares retained by the Sponsor Entities; (ii) the trading share price of the SFT Class A Common Stock and the SFT Warrants; and (iii) fair value discounts related to the share sale restrictions on the Sponsor Shares outlined below. Upon recognition of the principal transaction revenue described above in the fourth quarter, the Company will record a non-controlling interest expense or compensation expense related to the amount of Sponsor Shares distributable to the non-controlling interest holders in the Sponsor Entities. If the non-controlling interest holder is an employee of the Company, the expense will be recorded as compensation. Otherwise, the expense will be non-controlling interest expense. The Company currently expects that, upon the registration of the Sponsor Shares in accordance with the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement described below, (a) of the Placement Securities, 252,335 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock and 126,500 SFT Warrants will be distributed to the non-controlling interest holders of the Sponsor Entities and, (b) of the Founder Shares, 2,477,803 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock will be distributed to the non-controlling interest holders of the Sponsor Entities. Immediately following these distributions, the Company expects to retain (i) of the Placement Securities, 122,665 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock and 61,332 SFT Warrants, and (ii) of the Founder Shares, 2,019,721 shares of SFT Class A Common Stock.

Subject to certain limited exceptions, Placement Securities held by IAS will not be transferable or salable until 30 days following the Closing. Of the Founder Shares held by the Sponsor Entities, (a) 20% are freely transferable and salable, and (b) subject to certain limited exception, the remaining shares will not be transferable or salable until the closing price of the SFT Class A Common Stock, for a period of 20 out of any 30 consecutive trading days following the Closing, (a) exceeds $12.00 with respect to 20% of such shares, (b) exceeds $13.50 with respect to an additional 20% of such shares, (c) exceeds $15.00 with respect to an additional 20% of such shares, and (d) exceeds $17.00 with respect to an additional 20% of such shares.

About Cohen & Company

Cohen & Company is a financial services company specializing in fixed income markets. It was founded in 1999 as an investment firm focused on small-cap banking institutions but has grown to provide 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 matched book 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) Limited in Europe. The Asset Management segment manages assets through collateralized debt obligations, managed accounts, and investment funds. As of September 30, 2020, the Company managed approximately $2.7 billion in fixed income assets in a variety of asset classes including US and European trust preferred securities, subordinated debt, and corporate loans. As of September 30, 2020, 77.4% of the Company’s assets under management were in collateralized debt obligations that Cohen & Company manages, which were all securitized prior to 2008. 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, matched book repo, or other capital markets business activity. For more information, please visit www.cohenandcompany.com.

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