LOM was hit hard by the impact of the global financial crisis, with the company suffering a loss of more than $750,000 during 2008.

That is according to LOM's 2008 audited financial results released yesterday, which reveal that last year the company made a loss of $765,000 or 11 cents per share compared to a $2.478 million profit in 2007.

In addition, assets under administration fell 44 percent to $640 million, there was no return on equity, revenues dropped 47 percent to $8.8 million and operating costs declined 32 percent to $9.5 million.

But one positive for the group was revenues in its asset management division increased 14 percent and Standard & Poor's affirming the AAA status of its US dollar money market fund.

In his 2008 letter to shareholders, Scott Lines, CEO of LOM (Holdings) Ltd., said that 2008 had been the worst year for financial markets since the 1930s, with the collapse of the global banking system and the world's big investment banking and broking firms either going bankrupt or having to be bailed out by their governments, along with the fall of the world's largest insurance group.

Allied to this, he said the global real estate market and automobile industries were on "life support" and credit across the world had seized up in the fourth quarter of last year, while the US capital market dropped 39 percent, the UK 32 percent, Germany 41 percent, France 42 percent, Japan 42 percent, China 65 percent and Hong Kong 48 percent.

"The collapse in the major markets caused business activity in the second half of 2008 to virtually stop for LOM," he said.

"Our commission revenue declined substantially as a result. Although management took rapid steps to reduce our overheads the speed of the decline meant that we were not able to avoid posting a loss for the year."

However, Mr. Lines said the group's balance sheet remained strong at year end, with no debt and its cash levels at 15 percent of total assets.

He said that subsequent to the end of 2008, LOM received an additional amount of cash in reimbursement from insurers of the company's expensed legal costs, which bolstered its cash levels to 22 percent of total assets.

Mr. Lines said the company had incurred "significant" expenses in implementing its new customer accounting software, which is expected to go live in the first half of 2009.

At the end of 2008, he said LOM's book value per share was $3.10, while, during the year, its share price on the Bermuda Stock Exchange traded between a low of $3.50 and a high of $4.05.

"Given the fact that the group has lost money last year and that trading conditions remain extremely difficult we have decided to suspend dividend payments until conditions improve," he said.

"However, the cost-cutting initiatives made in November of last year and February of this year are starting to help.

"Nevertheless, LOM is strong enough to weather this storm and will be in a good position to resume profitable growth as conditions improve.

"Although the environment remains very challenging, there are significant opportunities for investors in the current markets."