Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter Results

OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE: WDR) today reported a fourth quarter 2020 net loss1 of $6.9 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to net income of $30.5 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, during the prior quarter and net income of $15.9 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, during the fourth quarter of 2019. The fourth quarter of 2020 included $39.6 million in costs related to the proposed acquisition of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. by Macquarie Asset Management, the asset management division of Macquarie Group (“Macquarie”) pursuant to a merger agreement announced on December 2, 2020. Excluding the merger-related costs, adjusted net income2 for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $25.5 million and adjusted net income per diluted share2 was $0.41. The fourth quarter of 2019 included non-cash asset impairment charges of $12.8 million in connection with certain assets held for sale, including real property related to our corporate headquarters move and the elimination of our internal aviation operations, an $11.2 million non-cash charge related to the annual revaluation of the pension plan liability and $2.3 million in severance expense related to the outsourcing of our transfer agency transactional processing operations. Excluding the non-cash charges and severance expense, adjusted net income2 for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $36.0 million and adjusted net income per diluted share2 was $0.51.