Sprott Announces 2018 First Quarter Results


TORONTO, May 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sprott Inc. (TSX:SII) (“Sprott” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2018.

Financial Overview for the quarter-ended March 31, 2018:

  • Assets Under Management (“AUM”) were $11.6 billion as at March 31, 2018, compared to $7.3 billion as at December 31, 2017.
  • Total net revenues (net of commission expenses, trailer fees, sub-advisor fees and performance fee payouts) were $27.2 million, reflecting an increase of $0.3 million (1%) from the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • Total expenses (excluding commission expenses, trailer and sub-advisor fees and performance fee payouts) were $16.4 million, reflecting a decrease of $0.5 million (3%) from the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • Net income was $13.7 million ($0.06 per share), reflecting an increase of $4.8 million (55%) from the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • On a normalized basis (taking into account the 2017 sale of non-core diversified assets, loan loss provision reversal and related catch-up interest) adjusted base EBITDA from core businesses increased by 61% from the quarter ended March 31, 2017 to $10.0 million ($0.04) per share.
  • Investable capital stood at $189 million as at March 31, 2018, compared to $293 million as at December 31, 2017.

Significant events for the quarter-ended March 31, 2018:

  • Completed strategic acquisition of Central Fund of Canada Ltd. ("CFCL"), adding $4.3 billion in assets to physical bullion franchise

"Our Assets Under Management increased to $11.6 billion during the first quarter of 2018, following the completion of our acquisition of Central Fund of Canada Ltd., which contributed to our strong financial results for the quarter," said Peter Grosskopf, CEO of Sprott. "With the realignment of the business complete, we are focused on continuing to build a global precious metal investment management business offering leading bullion products, ETFs and active equity strategies. We believe there are exciting opportunities ahead of us as we continue to explore complementary acquisitions and strategic partnerships."

Assets Under Management

In millions $AUM
Dec. 31, 2017
Net Sales
& Capital Calls
Market
Value Change
Acquisitions
& Divestitures
AUM
Mar. 31, 2018
      
Exchange Listed Products     
  - Physical Trusts4,200 (122)188 4,337 8,603 
  - ETFs434  (23) 411 
 4,634 (122)165 4,337 9,014 
      
Alternative Asset Management     
  - In-house405  (6) 399 
  - Sub-advised710 (5)(49) 656 
 1,115 (5)(55) 1,055 
      
Private Resource Investments     
  - Managed Companies706  17 (98)625 
  - Fixed Term LPs308  4  312 
  - Separately Managed Accounts308  (5) 303 
  - Private Resource Lending LPs252 30   282 
 1,574 30 16 (98)1,522 
      
Total7,323 (97)126 4,239 11,591 

Dividends

On May 10, 2018, a dividend of $0.03 per common share was declared for the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call and webcast will be held today, May 11, 2018 at 10:00 am ET to discuss the Company's financial results. To participate in the call, please dial (855) 458-4215 ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call and provide conference ID8291608. A taped replay of the conference call will be available until Friday, May 19, 2018 by calling (855) 859-2056, reference number 8291608. The conference call will be webcast live at www.sprott.com and https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/rhizm9o5

 *Non-IFRS Financial Measures

This press release includes financial terms (including AUM, EBITDA, adjusted base 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 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) continued delivery of improving financial results; (ii) our focus on continuing to build a global precious metal investment management business offering leading bullion products, ETFs and active equity strategies; (iii) our belief that there are exciting opportunities ahead of us as we continue to explore opportunities for complementary acquisitions and strategic partnerships; and (iv) 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) the impact of increasing competition in each business in which the Company operates will not be material; (ii) quality management will be available; (iii) the effects of regulation and tax laws of governmental agencies will be consistent with the current environment; and (iv) those assumptions disclosed herein under the heading "Significant Accounting Judgments and Estimates" in the Company’s MD&A for the period ended March 31, 2018. 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) poor investment performance; (iii) failure to continue to retain and attract quality staff; (iv) employee errors or misconduct could result in regulatory sanctions or reputational harm; (v) performance fee fluctuations; (vi) changes in the investment management industry; (vii) failure to implement effective information security policies, procedures and capabilities; (viii) lack of investment opportunities; (ix) risks related to regulatory compliance; (x) failure to manage risks appropriately; (xi) failure to deal appropriately with conflicts of interest; (xii) competitive pressures; (xiii) corporate growth may be difficult to sustain and may place significant demands on existing administrative, operational and financial resources; (xiv) failure to successfully implement succession planning; (xv) foreign exchange risk relating to the relative value of the U.S. dollar; (xvi) litigation risk; (xvii) failure to develop effective business resiliency plans; (xviii) failure to obtain or maintain sufficient insurance coverage on favourable economic terms; (xix) historical financial information is not necessarily indicative of future performance; (xx) the market price of common shares of the Company may fluctuate widely and rapidly; (xxi) risks relating to the Company’s investment products; (xxii) risks relating to the Company's proprietary investments; (xxiii) risks relating to the Company's lending business; (xxiv) risks relating to the Company’s merchant bank and advisory business; (xxv) those risks described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company’s annual information form dated March 2, 2018; and (xxvi) those risks described under the headings "Managing Risk: Financial" and "Managing Risk: Non-Financial" in the Company’s MD&A for the period ended March 31, 2018. 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
Sprott is an alternative asset manager and a global leader in precious metal and real asset investments. Through its subsidiaries in Canada, the US and Asia, the Corporation is dedicated to providing investors with best-in-class investment strategies that include Exchange Listed Products, Alternative Asset Management and Private Resource Investments. The Corporation also operates Merchant Banking and Brokerage businesses in both Canada and the US. Sprott is based in Toronto with offices in New York, Carlsbad and Vancouver and its common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol (TSX:SII). For more information, please visit www.sprott.com.

Investor contact information:

Glen Williams
Managing Director
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
(416) 943-4394
gwilliams@sprott.com

Source: Sprott Inc.