AGF Management Ltd. reported a 30-per-cent decline in fourth quarter profit as the value of its portfolio shrank over stock market uncertainty, a trend it doesn't expect to stabilize any time soon. The Toronto-based mutual fund company's shares sank 5.5 per cent, or 93 cents, to $15.96 Wednesday after it said higher expenses and lower investment returns hit the bottom line. "It will continue to be a challenging market, but we're not going to make any excuses for our performance, we can and will do better," Blake Goldring, AGF's chairman and CEO said on a conference call. AGF reported net income for the three months ended Nov. 30 dropped to $21.9-million from $30.9 million, or 23 cents per share compared to 34 cents a year earlier. AGF's overall revenue grew to $157.8 million from $155.9 million.
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