TORONTO,
Aug. 7, 2014 /CNW/ - Sprott Inc.
(TSX: SII) ("Sprott" or the "Company") today announced its
financial results for the three months ended June 30,
2014.
Q2 2014 Financial Overview
- Assets Under Management ("AUM") were $7.8 billion as at June 30, 2014, compared
to $7.1 billion as at June 30,
2013 and $7.7 billion as at
March 31, 2014
- Assets Under Administration ("AUA") were $2.6 billion as at June 30, 2014, compared
to $2.6 billion as at June 30,
2013 and $2.7 billion as at
March 31, 2014
- Management Fees were $20.1
million, reflecting a decrease of $1.3 million (6.3)% from the three months ended
June 30, 2013
- Commission revenues were $2.5
million reflecting an increase of $0.9 million (54.7%) from the three months ended
June 30, 2013
- Invested capital stood at $330.5
million, reflecting a $16.3
million (5.2%) increase from December
31, 2013
- Returns on invested capital were $6.5
million during the second quarter of 2014
- Interest income was $3.8 million,
reflecting an increase of $2.8
million from the three months ended June 30, 2013
- Unrealized and realized gains on proprietary investments and
loans were $2.7 million, reflecting
an increase of $12.1 million from the
three months ended June 30, 2013
- Adjusted base EBITDA was $6.8
million, reflecting a decrease of $1.2 million (14.6%) from the three months ended
June 30, 2013
- Net income was $5.0 million
($0.02 per share), reflecting an
increase of $11.7 million from the
three months ended June 30, 2013
Significant events for the three months ended
June 30, 2014 and year-to-date
2014:
- Acquired three real assets focused funds sub-advised by Capital
Innovations LLC and launched Sprott Real Assets Class
- Launched Sprott Gold Miners ETF on the New York Stock
Exchange
- Signed agreement with Bridging Finance Inc. to sub-advise the
Sprott Bridging Income Fund LP
- Completed secondary offering of 23 million shares previously
held by a company controlled by Eric
Sprott and announced proposed private placement of an
additional five million shares to the Sprott employee trust
"Our fund performance continued to improve during
the second quarter and first half of 2014, with many of our funds
posting solid double-digit returns year-to-date," said Peter Grosskopf, Chief Executive Officer of
Sprott. "We have now generated positive net sales for four straight
quarters and we are gradually building momentum in a number of
different areas."
"We continue to broaden our product offerings to
provide investors with a wider range of investment options,
focusing on areas where our expertise gives us a sustainable
competitive advantage," continued Mr. Grosskopf. "Earlier this
year, we acquired three real assets funds sub-advised by Capital
Innovations LLC, focused on infrastructure, agriculture and timber.
We subsequently launched the Sprott Real Assets Class, a new fund
that provides investors with access to all three funds through a
single investment solution."
"In July, we launched the Sprott Gold Miners ETF
("SGDM") on the New York Stock Exchange. The ETF leverages our
extensive experience as gold investors and is based on a
proprietary, factors-based methodology," added Mr. Grosskopf.
"While it will take time to measure the success of the fund, we
believe this could be a key growth area for our business. Along
with our three physical trusts, this latest offering gives us four
NYSE-listed investment funds that are easily accessible to US and
international investors."
The breakdown of AUM by investment product type on a
quarter-over-quarter basis is as follows:
$ (in
millions)
|
AUM
March 31,
2014
|
Net Sales
/
(Redemptions)
|
Net
Market
Value
Change
|
Acquisitions
/
(Divestitures)
|
AUM
June 30,
2014
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bullion
Funds
|
3,581
|
(5)
|
27
|
—
|
3,603
|
Mutual
Funds
|
1,747
|
41
|
120
|
—
|
1,908
|
Alternative
Investment Strategies
|
711
|
(6)
|
22
|
(53)
|
674
|
Offshore
Funds
|
186
|
(1)
|
7
|
—
|
192
|
Managed
Companies
|
918
|
39
|
30
|
(49)
|
938
|
Managed
Accounts
|
134
|
5
|
(3)
|
—
|
136
|
Fixed Term Limited
Partnerships
|
418
|
—
|
(27)
|
—
|
391
|
Total
|
7,695
|
73
|
176
|
(102)
|
7,842
|
Assets Under Management
AUM at June 30, 2014, increased by 9.7%
to $7.8 billion from $7.1 billion at June 30, 2013. Net sales for
the three months ended June 30, 2014 were $0.1 billion. Average AUM for the three months
ended June 30, 2014 was $7.6
billion compared with $8.0
billion for the three months ended June 30, 2013, a
decrease of 5.1%. During the quarter performance gains and net
sales were offset somewhat by Sprott Toscana's strategic decision
to exit the resource lending business to focus on Toscana Energy
Income Corp., a business that invests in mid-long-life oil and gas
properties, working interests and royalties.
Income Statement
Total revenues for the three months ended
June 30, 2014 increased by 83.2% to $30.4 million from $16.6
million for the three months ended June 30, 2013.
For the three months ended June 30, 2014,
Management Fees decreased by 6.3% to $20.1
million from $21.5 million in
the three months ended June 30, 2013, reflecting the decline
in average AUM over the period.
Commission revenue was $2.5 million reflecting an increase of
$0.9 million (54.7%) from the three
months ended June 30, 2013. Commission revenue is generated
primarily through private placements by Sprott Global Resource
Investments Ltd., and to a lesser extent, Sprott Private
Wealth.
Interest income was $3.8
million, reflecting an increase of $2.8 million from the prior period.
Interest income earned by the Company is generated primarily
by Sprott Resource Lending Corp., which was acquired by the Company
on July 23, 2013.
Unrealized and realized gains on proprietary
investments and loans were $2.7
million, reflecting an increase of $12.1 million from the prior period.
Other income decreased by $1.0 million from $1.9
million in the three months ended June 30, 2013 to
$0.8 million in the three months
ended June 30, 2014.
Total expenses were $22.7
million, reflecting a decrease of $4.0 million (15.0%) from the prior
period.
Adjusted base EBITDA was $6.8 million, reflecting a decrease of
$1.2 million (14.6%) from the prior
period.
Net Income was $5.0
million, reflecting an increase of $11.7 million from the prior period.
Basic earnings per share were $0.02, versus $(0.04) for the prior period. Diluted earnings
per share were $0.02, versus
$(0.04) for the prior period.
Dividends
On May 13, 2014, a
dividend of $0.03 per common share
was declared for the quarter ended March 31,
2014. On August 6, 2014, a dividend of $0.03 per common share was declared for the
quarter ended June 30, 2014.
Conference Call and Webcast
A conference call and webcast will be held today,
Thursday. August 7, 2014 at
10:00am ET to discuss the Company's
financial results. To participate in the call, please dial
647-427-7450 or 1-888-231-8191 and provide conference ID 81176731
ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. A taped
replay of the conference call will be available until Thursday, August 14, 2014 by calling 416-849-0833
or 1-855-859-2056, reference number 81176731. The conference call
will be webcast live at www.sprottinc.com and www.newswire.ca
*Non-IFRS Financial Measures
This press release includes financial terms
(including AUM, AUA, EBITDA and net sales) that the Company
utilizes to assess the financial performance of its business that
are not measures recognized under International Financial Reporting
Standards ("IFRS"). These non-IFRS measures should not be
considered alternatives to performance measures determined in
accordance with IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures
presented by other issuers. For additional information regarding
the Company's use of non-IFRS measures, including the calculation
of these measures, please refer to the "Non-IFRS Financial
Measures" section of the Company's Management's Discussion and
Analysis and its financial statements available on the Company's
website at www.sprottinc.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Forward-Looking Information and
Statements
Certain statements in this press release contain
forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as the
"Forward-Looking Statements") within the meaning of applicable
securities laws. The use of any of the words "expect",
"anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "may", "will", "project",
"should", "believe", "plans", "intends" and similar expressions are
intended to identify Forward-Looking Statements. In particular, but
without limiting the forgoing, this press release contains
Forward-Looking Statements pertaining to: (i) the continued
broadening of product offerings to provide investors a wider range
of investment options, focusing on areas where Sprott's expertise
gives it a sustainable competitive advantage; (ii) the belief that
the SGDM could be a key growth area for the business; and (iii) the
declaration, payment and designation of dividends.
Although the Company believes that the
Forward-Looking Statements are reasonable, they are not guarantees
of future results, performance or achievements. A number of
factors or assumptions have been used to develop the
Forward-Looking Statements, including: (i) future exchange rates
will remain consistent with the current environment; (ii) the price
of precious metals will increase; (iii) the resource sector will
recover; (iv) the impact of increasing competition in each business
in which the Company operates will not be material; (v) quality
management will be available; and (vi) the effects of regulation
and tax laws of governmental agencies will be consistent with the
current environment. Actual results, performance or
achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied
by the Forward-Looking Statements should assumptions underlying the
Forward-Looking Statements prove incorrect or should one or more
risks or other factors materialize, including: (i) difficult market
conditions; (ii) changes in the investment management industry;
(iii) risks related to regulatory compliance; (iv) failure to deal
appropriately with conflicts of interest; (v) failure to continue
to retain and attract quality staff; (vi) competitive pressures;
(vii) corporate growth may be difficult to sustain and may place
significant demands on existing administrative, operational and
financial resources; (viii) foreign exchange risk relating to the
relative value of the U.S. dollar; (ix) historical financial
information is not necessarily indicative of future performance; *
those risks described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the
Company's annual information form dated March 27, 2014; and (xi) those risks described
under the headings "Managing Risk - Financial" and "Managing Risk -
Other" in the Company's MD&A for the three and six months ended
June 30, 2014. In addition, the
payment of dividends is not guaranteed and the amount and timing of
any dividends payable by the Company will be at the discretion of
the Board of Directors of the Company and will be established on
the basis of the Company's earnings, the satisfaction of solvency
tests imposed by applicable corporate law for the declaration and
payment of dividends, and other relevant factors. The
Forward-Looking Statements speak only as of the date hereof, unless
otherwise specifically noted, and the Company does not assume any
obligation to publicly update any Forward-Looking Statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be expressly required by applicable Canadian
securities laws.
About Sprott Inc.
Sprott Inc. is a leading independent asset
manager dedicated to achieving superior returns for its clients
over the long term. The Company currently operates primarily
through six business units: Sprott Asset Management LP, Sprott
Private Wealth LP, Sprott Consulting LP, Sprott Resource Lending
Corp., Sprott Toscana and Sprott U.S. Holdings Inc. Sprott
Asset Management is the investment manager of the Sprott family of
mutual funds and hedge funds and discretionary managed accounts;
Sprott Private Wealth provides wealth management services to high
net worth individuals; and Sprott Consulting and Sprott Toscana
provide management, administrative and consulting services to other
companies. Sprott Resource Lending provides lending services to
mining and energy sectors. Sprott U.S. Holdings Inc. includes
Sprott Global Resource Investments Ltd, Sprott Asset Management
USA Inc., and Resource Capital
Investments Corporation. Sprott Inc. is headquartered in
Toronto, Canada, and is listed on
the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "SII". For more
information on Sprott Inc., please visit www.sprottinc.com.
SOURCE Sprott Inc.