AGM Statement

Fiske PLC
19 September 2002



Fiske plc



Extract from Statement made by Geoffrey Maitland Smith (Chairman) to the
Shareholders at the Company's Annual General Meeting held at 12.30 p.m. on 19
September 2002.



Year ended 31 May 2002

Whilst our pre-tax profits were £457,000 for the year, compared with £1,837,000
in the previous year, the results include profits made on sales of shares we
hold in the London Stock Exchange. If we exclude these exceptional profits, the
pre-tax results arising from trading were a loss of £640,000 as compared with a
profit in the previous year of £601,000. These much reduced results are caused
by a material reduction in private client activity on the stock market. Whilst
it is no real consolation to shareholders, it is worth noting that our
competitors are finding things equally difficult and, in many cases, even worse.



We have continued to reduce our overheads and to make as many economies as we
can, without damaging our prospects for handling increased business when times
improve.



As I said in my Statement in the Report and Accounts, we announced in June the
acquisition of Ionian Group Ltd for a total consideration of £1.58 million.
Ionian is an investment management company acting for corporate, institutional
and private investment clients with approximately £45 million under management.
The consideration was split into cash of £430,000 and the balance in Fiske
ordinary shares.



We believe this transaction will strengthen our business and improve the quality
of our future earnings.



So far as the composition of our Board is concerned, the acquisition of Ionian
had the welcome effect of improving the strength of our Board with the
appointment of Stephen Cockburn and Philip Lovegrove. Stephen is already known
to you having been a Non-Executive Director of Fiske since 1999. He has now
become an Executive Director and our Deputy Chairman thus reducing our
Non-Executive Directors to one. I am very pleased to say that Mr Michael Allen
has agreed to join us in the near future as an Independent Non Executive
Director. He is currently on the boards of Safeway and Alliance and Leicester,
having spent most of his life as an executive director with Procter & Gamble. He
will thus bring a wealth of experience to our boards' deliberations and will
come up for election at our next AGM.



The current year has started in a subdued fashion and the short-term outlook is
for depressed market values and low volumes. In the first quarter of the new
financial year, we have made a trading loss of £210,000 and an exceptional
profit of £319,000 on a further sale of 75,000 ordinary shares in the London
Stock Exchange to give un-audited pre-tax profits of £109,000 for the three
months to 31 August 2002.



Whilst we have no influence over market conditions in what has become a benign
economic environment, we are taking steps to improve our competitive position
and making every endeavour to increase revenues. Our acquisition of Ionian and
our expansion of the Fiske private client department through internal
reorganisation both offer considerable opportunities for integration benefits
and revenue growth.



Our shareholding in the London Stock Exchange now stands at 100,000 ordinary
shares which, at a current market value of 348.5p per share, gives rise to a
total value of £348,500 which we carry at nil value in our balance sheet.



So far as our dividend is concerned, as a measure of our confidence in the
future we have decided to recommend a final dividend of 3.75p per share making a
total dividend for the year of 5.75p. Although this is not fully covered by net
profits after tax, in light of the above and the substantial profits made on the
sales of part of our shareholding in the London Stock Exchange, the Board
believes this to be appropriate. The total dividend per share for the year will
thus be the same as that for the previous year.



In order not to commit the Board to future decision making, no indication of
actual or recommended dividends in the future can be made or reasonably
expected. One thing I can say, however, is that we are well aware of
shareholders' needs for income and income growth and this will be very much in
our minds as market conditions improve. Equally, we are conscious of the
desirability for the Company to maintain a sound balance sheet.



Enquiries : - Clive Harrison / James Harrison - tel: [phone]






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