Elliott Advisors reverses loss-making activities after cutting UK wage bill
The UK arm of the activist fund manager involved in the likes of Poundland, SABMiller and Samsung has swung back into profit.
Elliott Advisors UK, which runs British operations on behalf of its US parent, made a profit of £2.6m in the year to December 2015 after generating a loss of £2.7m the year before.
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Although the fund manager took the knife to director pay last year, its best paid employee – who was not named – saw their pay packet swell from £1.6m to £2.6m in 2015. Nevertheless, this was well below the £38m paid to its highest earner in 2013.
But while top employees benefitted from the return to profitability, total salaries dropped by 23 per cent to £61m – this was despite the fact that the number of employees increased from 61 to 72.
British operations yielded revenues that were 19 per cent lower at £81m. However this decrease was offset by a larger decrease in operating costs, down from £102m to £78m. Much of this decrease was thanks to the slashed wage bill, however it was also due to a decrease in operating lease costs – likely to include the rent on its Park Street offices – from £4.1m to £1.7m.
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Elliott's accounts were filed at Companies House on Wednesday and the news of a turnaround in the financial performance of its UK arm came as it's US parent re-ignited its attempts to wring the changes at embattled electronics giant Samsung.
Elliott has submitted unsolicited proposals for a radical corporate makeover, a move that prompted Samsung to "carefully review" proposals to split the company into separate holding and operating entities.