DALLAS, Jul 22, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (NYSE: WHG) today reported 2010 second quarter revenues of $13.2 million, net income of $2.5 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.36. This compares to revenues of $10.0 million, net income of $1.6 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.25 in the second quarter of 2009. Cash earnings were $5.2 million compared to $3.9 million for the second quarter of 2009. Cash earnings per share ("Cash EPS") were $0.76 per diluted share compared to $0.58 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2009. (Cash earnings and Cash EPS are non-GAAP financial measures that are explained and reconciled with the most comparable GAAP financial measures in the attached tables.)

Assets under management were $9.7 billion as of June 30, 2010, an increase of 18% compared to assets under management of $8.2 billion as of June 30, 2009. The increase in assets under management was primarily due to market appreciation of assets under management and asset inflows from new and existing clients, partially offset by the withdrawal of assets by certain clients. The WHG Funds had assets of $652 million as of June 30, 2010, an increase of 75% compared to assets of $372 million as of June 30, 2009.

Westwood's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.33 per common share, payable on October 1, 2010 to stockholders of record on September 15, 2010.

Brian Casey, Westwood's President & CEO, commented, "Despite a challenging market, we were pleased to see continued net flows in the Subadvisory channel as well as the WHG Funds. Our assets in the five WHG Funds grew over 75% year-over-year and we continue to have positive momentum."

For the six months ended June 30, 2010, Westwood reported revenues of $26.4 million, net income of $5.4 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.80, compared to revenues of $18.2 million, net income of $2.9 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.43, for the same 2009 period. Cash earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2010 were $10.0 million compared to $6.6 million for the same period in 2009, while Cash EPS for the six months ended June 30, 2010 were $1.48 per diluted share compared to $0.99 per diluted share for the same period in 2009.

Total expenses for the second quarter were $9.3 million compared with $7.5 million for the second quarter of 2009. Cash expenses were $6.6 million compared with $5.2 million for the second quarter of 2009. (An explanation and reconciliation of cash expenses to total expenses is included in the attached tables.) The primary drivers for higher total expenses were increases of $813,000 in incentive compensation due to higher pretax income, $410,000 in restricted stock expense due to additional grants at higher prices than previous grants and $145,000 in salary expense.

Westwood Trust contributed revenue of $3.1 million and net income of $440,000 compared to revenue of $2.3 million and net income of $267,000 in the second quarter of 2009. As of June 30, 2010, Westwood Trust's assets under management were $1.8 billion, an increase of 6% compared to $1.7 billion as of June 30, 2009. The increase in assets under management was primarily due to market appreciation.

Westwood will host a conference call to discuss second quarter 2010 results and other business updates at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time today. To join the conference call, dial 866-337-6663 (domestic) or 904-520-5771 (international). The conference call can also be accessed at www.westwoodgroup.com, under the Investor Relations tab and will be available for replay through July 29 by dialing 888-284-7564 (domestic) or 904-596-3174 (international) and entering passcode 2428141.

About Westwood

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. manages investment assets and provides services for its clients through two subsidiaries, Westwood Management Corp. and Westwood Trust. Westwood Management Corp. is a registered investment advisor and provides investment advisory services to corporate pension funds, public retirement plans, endowments, foundations, the WHG Funds, other mutual funds and clients of Westwood Trust. Westwood Trust provides trust services and participation in common trust funds that it sponsors to institutions and high net worth individuals. Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "WHG."

For more information on Westwood, please visit our website at www.westwoodgroup.com.

For more information on the WHG Funds, please visit www.whgfunds.com.

Note on Forward-looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not purely historical facts, including statements about our expected future financial position, results of operations or cash flows, as well as other statements including words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "should," "could," "goal," "target," "designed," "on track," "comfortable with," "optimistic" and other similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Actual results and the timing of some events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation: our ability to identify and successfully market services that appeal to our customers; the significant concentration of our revenues in four of our customers; our relationships with investment consulting firms; our relationships with current and potential customers; our ability to retain qualified personnel; our ability to successfully develop and market new asset classes; our ability to maintain our fee structure in light of competitive fee pressures; competition in the marketplace; downturn in the financial markets; the passage of legislation adversely affecting the financial services industries; interest rates; changes in our effective tax rate; our ability to maintain an effective system of internal controls; and the other risks detailed from time to time in Westwood's SEC filings, including but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended June 30, 2010 and March 31, 2010. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, Westwood is not obligated to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect the events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

As supplemental information, we are providing non-GAAP performance measures that we refer to as cash earnings, cash earnings per share (or Cash EPS), and cash expenses. We provide these measures in addition to, not as a substitute for, net income, earnings per share and total expenses, which are reported on a GAAP basis. Management and our Board of Directors review cash earnings, Cash EPS and cash expenses to evaluate Westwood's ongoing performance, allocate resources and review dividend policy. We believe that these non-GAAP performance measures, while not substitutes for GAAP net income, earnings per share and total expenses, are useful for both management and investors when evaluating Westwood's underlying operating and financial performance and its available resources. We do not advocate that investors consider these non-GAAP measures without considering financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP.

We define cash earnings as net income plus non-cash equity-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets and deferred taxes related to goodwill. We define cash expenses as total expenses less non-cash equity-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets. Although depreciation on fixed assets is a non-cash expense, we do not add it back when calculating cash earnings or deduct it when calculating cash expenses because depreciation charges represent a decline in the value of the related assets that will ultimately require replacement. In addition, we do not adjust cash earnings for tax deductions related to restricted stock expense or amortization of intangible assets. Cash EPS represents cash earnings divided by diluted weighted average shares outstanding.

(WHG-G)

SOURCE: Westwood Holdings Group, Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group, Inc.
Bill Hardcastle, 214-756-6900

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