W.P. Stewart & Co. Ltd, the Bermuda-based asset management company has issued a profits warning.

The company's results for the fourth quarter and full year 2002 come out on Wednesday 29 January.

However the company issued advance warning yesterday that results will not meet consensus estimates.

Fourth quarter diluted earnings per share are likely to be in the range of $0.20 - $0.22. The company said that its results had suffered due to a sharply reduced level of portfolio turnover and related commission revenues in the fourth quarter. In addition, levels of employee compensation and certain other expenses were somewhat higher than in the prior quarter.

The W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. US equity composite for the fourth quarter of 2002 was + 5.3 percent pre-fee and +5.0 percent post- fee. For the full year ended December 31, the company's performance was -14.4 percent of pre-fee and -15. 6 percent post fee. In contrast, the S& P 500 declined by 22 percent in 2000.