Guardian Capital Group Limited Announces 2015 Third Quarter Operating Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Nov 12, 2015) - 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
($ in thousands, except per share amounts)

Three Months

Nine Months

2015

2014

2015

2014

Net revenue

$

33,188

$

30,806

$

98,558

$

87,785

Operating earnings

10,876

10,051

32,742

27,806

Net gains (losses)(1)

(2,407

)

(194

)

1,382

6,412

Net earnings before net gains on securities held for sale(1)

6,278

7,877

27,615

28,789

Net gains on securities held for sale(1)

--

--

--

386

Net earnings available to shareholders

6,053

7,715

26,967

28,794

EBITDA(2)

$

12,115

$

11,251

$

36,329

$

31,458

Adjusted cash flow from operations(2)

10,385

9,882

29,070

26,398

Per Share:

Net earnings available to shareholders

$

0.20

$

0.25

$

0.88

$

0.92

EBITDA(2)

0.40

0.36

1.18

1.01

Adjusted cash flow from operations(2)

0.34

0.32

0.95

0.85

As at

Sep 30,

Jun 30,

Dec 31,

Sep 30,

($ in millions, except per share amounts)

2015

2015

2014

2014

Assets under management

$

24,015

$

25,007

$

24,968

$

25,039

Assets under administration

14,530

14,821

13,126

12,849

Shareholders' equity

471

474

489

482

Fair value of corporate holdings of securities

507

515

525

525

Per Share:

Shareholders' equity

$

15.23

$

15.32

$

15.62

$

15.39

Fair value of corporate holdings of securities

16.40

16.64

16.78

16.75

The Company's operating earnings for the current quarter were $10.9 million, an increase of 8% from $10.1 million in Q3 2014. All segments of the Company's operations contributed positively to the overall growth in operating earnings. Net losses of $2.4 million in the current quarter increased from the losses of $0.2 million recorded in 2014, due to declines in global equity markets and foreign currency losses during the current quarter, compared to the prior year.

Net earnings available to shareholders for the quarter were $6.1 million, or $0.20 per share, compared to $7.7 million, or $0.25 per share, for Q3 2014. The reduction in the current quarter was due largely to the increase in net losses, referred to above, offsetting the increase in operating earnings.

The Company's assets under management ("AUM") as at September 30, 2015 were $24.0 billion, down 4% from $25.0 billion as at June 30, 2015, December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2014. Assets under administration ("AUA") were $14.5 billion as at September 30, 2015, a slight decrease of 2% since June 30, 2015, but an increase of 11% and 13% since December 31, 2014 and September 30, 2014, respectively. The declines in AUM and AUA over the past quarter were due largely to the Canadian equity market decline.

EBITDA(2) for the quarter was $12.1 million, or $0.40 per share, compared to $11.3 million, or $0.36 per share for Q3 2014. Adjusted cash flow from operations(2) for the quarter was $10.4 million, or $0.34 per share, compared to $9.9 million, or $0.32 per share for Q3 2014.

The Company's shareholders' equity as at September 30, 2015 was $471 million, or $15.23 per share, compared to $489 million, or $15.62 per share, at December 31, 2014 and $482 million, or $15.39 per share, as at September 30, 2014. The fair value of the Company's corporate holdings of securities as at September 30, 2015 was $507 million, or $16.40 per share, compared to $525 million, or $16.78 per share, as at December 31, 2014 and $525 million, or $16.75 per share, as at September 30, 2014.

The Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share, payable on January 18, 2016, to shareholders of record on January 11, 2016.

(1) During the second quarter of 2015, certain of the Company's investments in mutual funds were reclassified from the held for sale category to the held for trading category on a retrospective basis. The reclassification had the effect of re-presenting net gains, income tax expenses, net earnings before net gains on securities held for sale, and net gains on securities held for sale in prior periods but did not Impact operating earnings or net earnings available to shareholders. The above and below tables reflect the effects of the retrospective application of the reclassification.

(2) 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 strictly 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 $6,278 and $27,615 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 (2014 - $7,877 and $29,175), and Net cash from operating activities, which was $14,751 and $30,027 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 (2014 - $19,541 and $26,769). 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.

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

Quarters ended
($ in thousands)

Sep 30,
2015

Jun 30,
2015

Mar 31,
2015

Dec 31,
2014

Sep 30,
2014

Jun 30,
2014

Mar 31,
2014

Dec 31,
2013

Net revenue

$

33,188

$

33,066

$

32,304

$

31,490

$

30,806

$

29,257

$

27,722

$

27,907

Operating earnings

10,876

11,390

10,476

10,335

10,051

9,199

8,556

8,564

Net gains (losses) (1)

(2,407

)

602

3,119

311

(168

)

2,959

3,647

7,218

Net earnings before net gains on securities held for sale (1)

6,278

9,786

11,551

8,438

7,877

10,288

10,624

14,879

Net gains on securities held for sale (1)

--

--

--

--

--

--

386

238

Net earnings available to shareholders

6,053

9,604

11,310

8,223

7,715

10,163

10,916

14,980

Shareholders' equity

470,533

473,944

477,901

488,835

482,242

463,306

438,363

414,985

($ in dollars)
Per average Class A and Common Share

Net earnings:

- Basic

$

0.21

$

0.33

$

0.38

$

0.27

$

0.26

$

0.34

$

0.36

$

0.49

- Diluted

0.20

0.31

0.37

0.27

0.25

0.33

0.35

0.48

Shareholders' equity:

- Basic

$

15.96

$

16.08

$

16.15

$

16.33

$

16.08

$

15.34

$

14.49

$

13.68

- Diluted

15.23

15.32

15.42

15.62

15.39

14.72

13.93

13.17

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.

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