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Guardian Capital Group Limited (TSX: GCG; GCG.A) Announces 2016 Third Quarter Operating Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov 10, 2016) - Guardian Capital Group Limited (GCG.TO)(TSX:GCG.A) -

All per share figures disclosed below are stated on a diluted basis.

For the periods ended September 30

Three Months

Nine Months

($ in thousands, except per share amounts)

2016

2015

2016

2015

Net revenues

$

35,185

$

33,188

$

104,446

$

98,558

Operating earnings

10,646

10,876

32,296

32,742

Net gains (losses)

10,057

(2,407

)

27,863

1,382

Net earnings available to shareholders

17,353

6,053

50,058

26,967

EBITDA (1)

$

12,065

$

12,115

$

36,150

$

36,329

Adjusted cash flow from operations (1)

9,293

10,385

28,311

29,070

Per share:

Net earnings available to shareholders

$

0.58

$

0.20

$

1.67

$

0.88

EBITDA (1)

0.40

0.40

1.21

1.18

Adjusted cash flow from operations (1)

0.31

0.34

0.95

0.95

As at

2016

2015

($ in millions, except per share amounts)

September 30

December 31

September 30

Assets under management

$

27,269

$

24,278

$

24,015

Assets under administration

16,134

14,943

14,530

Shareholders' equity

545

504

471

Corporate holding of securities

571

540

507

Per share:

Shareholders' equity

$

18.07

$

16.55

$

15.23

Corporate holding of securities

18.94

17.72

16.40

The Company's assets under management as at September 30, 2016, were $27.3 billion, an increase of 12% from $24.3 billion at the end of 2015 and an increase of 14% from $24.0 billion at September 30, 2015. Assets under administration were $16.1 billion at the end of the current quarter, up 8% from $14.9 billion at the end of 2015 and an 11% increase from $14.5 billion at September 30, 2015.

The Company's operating earnings for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 were $10.6 million, compared to $10.9 million in the same period one year earlier. The Company continues to invest back into its business during the quarter. Our investments to build a UK-based fundamental global and emerging market equities investment management team, the domestic real estate investment management business and the new US distribution team hired in late Q2 2016 incurred operating losses of $1.3 million in the current quarter, up from $0.8 million in the same period in the prior year. These investments are expected to continue to have a dampening effect on earnings in the short-term, but lead to improved future operating earnings and long-term value.

Net gains of $10.1 million for the current quarter are up significantly from net losses of $2.4 million in the same period a year earlier. The net gains in the current quarter resulted largely from the sale of 101,800 Bank of Montreal shares and gains recorded in the consolidated UCITS investment fund managed by the Company's subsidiary.

Net earnings available to shareholders for the current quarter were $17.4 million, or $0.58 per share, compared to $6.1 million, or $0.20 per share, in the same period a year earlier, mainly due to increased net gains during the current quarter.

EBITDA(1) for the current quarter remained substantially unchanged from the same period a year ago at $12.1 million, or $0.40 per share. Adjusted cash flow from operations(1) for the current quarter was $9.3 million, or $0.31 per share, compared to $10.4 million, or $0.34 per share in 2015. These two non-IFRS financial measures used by the Company are defined in its quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis, including a reconciliation of these measures to their most comparable IFRS measures.

The Company's shareholders' equity as at September 30, 2016 was $545 million or $18.07 per share, compared to $504 million, or $16.55 per share at December 31, 2015 and $471 million, or $15.23 per share as at September 30, 2015. The Company's corporate holdings of securities as at September 30, 2016 was $571 million, or $18.94 per share, compared to $540 million, or $17.72 per share, as at December 31, 2015 and $507 million, or $16.40 per share, as at September 30, 2015.

The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly eligible dividend of $0.085 per share, payable on January 18, 2017, to shareholders of record on January 11, 2017.

The following table summarizes Guardian's financial results for the past eight quarters.

Three months ended
($ in thousand, except per share amounts)

Sep 30,
2016

Jun 30,
2016

Mar 31,
2016

Dec 31,
2015

Sep 30,
2015

Jun 30,
2015

Mar 31,
2015

Dec 31,
2014

Net revenues

$

35,185

$

34,191

$

35,070

$

34,353

$

33,188

$

33,066

$

32,304

$

31,490

Operating earnings

10,646

10,300

11,350

10,256

10,876

11,390

10,476

10,335

Net gains (losses)

10,057

1,028

16,778

9,658

(2,407

)

602

3,187

311

Net earnings

17,475

9,169

24,072

17,362

6,278

9,786

11,551

8,438

Net earnings available to shareholders

17,353

8,887

23,818

17,138

6,053

9,604

11,310

8,223

Shareholders' equity

545,339

513,939

497,656

504,255

470,533

473,944

477,901

488,835

Per Class A and Common share:

Net earnings available to shareholders

Basic

$

0.61

$

0.31

$

0.83

$

0.59

$

0.21

$

0.33

$

0.38

$

0.27

Diluted

0.58

0.30

0.79

0.56

0.20

0.31

0.37

0.27

Shareholders' equity

Basic

$

19.11

$

18.08

$

17.51

$

17.37

$

15.96

$

16.08

$

16.15

$

16.33

Diluted

18.07

17.10

16.63

16.55

15.23

15.32

15.42

15.62

Dividends paid

$

0.085

$

0.085

$

0.075

$

0.075

$

0.075

$

0.075

$

0.065

$

0.065

Guardian Capital Group Limited is a diversified financial services company founded in 1962. Guardian provides institutional and high net worth investment management services to clients; financial services to international investors; and services to financial advisors in its national mutual fund dealer, securities dealer, and insurance distribution network. Its Common and Class A shares are listed on The Toronto Stock Exchange.

(1) The Company's management uses EBITDA and Adjusted cash flow from operations to evaluate and assess the performance of its business. These two measures do not have standardized measures under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. However, management believes that most shareholders, creditors, other stakeholders and investment analysts prefer to include the use of these measures in analyzing the Company's results. The Company defines EBITDA as net earnings before interest, income taxes, amortization, stock-based compensation, net gains or losses and net gains or losses on securities held for sale, less amounts attributable to non-controlling interest. The Company defines Adjusted cash flow from operations as Net cash from operating activities, net of changes in non-cash working capital items and net of non-controlling interests. The most comparable IFRS measures are Net earnings, which was $17,475 and $50,716 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 (2015 - $6,278 and $27,615), and Net cash from operating activities, which was $9,929 and $27,673 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 (2015 - $14,751 and $30,027). More detailed descriptions of these two non-IFRS measures are provided in the Company's quarterly Management's Discussions and Analysis, including a reconciliation of these measures to their most comparable IFRS measures.