Gottex Misses Expectations As Profit Jumps 42%

Hedge fund firm Gottex Fund Management said yesterday that profits rose 42% last year, but still managed to disappoint analysts, who expected even better results.

The Guernsey, Channel Islands-based firm turned a US$73.1 million profit, thanks to assets under management more than doubling to US$16 billion. The firm took in US$9.4 billion in inflows last year, as well as US$1.3 billion in investment gains, against just US$1.7 billion in redemptions. Still, the lower-than-expect earnings are likely to send its already-battered stock price even lower.

Gottex has seen its share price fall 40% since going public in November.

“We believe that it will take some time for the markets to normalize following the extreme market volatility we have experienced since last summer,” Gottex said.

To that end, the firm said it is planning a vehicle to profit from the credit crunch for this summer, Reuters reports.