Canada NewsWire
TORONTO, March 21, 2016
TORONTO, March 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Aston Hill Financial Inc. ("Aston Hill" or the "Company") (TSX:AHF) announces it has filed its Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2015 and related Management's Discussion and Analysis with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
Year of Transition Complete
"2015 has likely been the most significant year in Aston Hill's history," said President and Chief Executive Officer, James Werry. "The on-going investments that have been made to create an expansive retail distribution platform and complete changes in the internal infrastructure provide the opportunity to drive meaningful profitability and growth in our proprietary products. With the corporate reorganization initiatives complete, we can focus on achieving this growth by executing our strategic business plan and increasing marketing and sales efforts, including our strategies specifically focused on Ben Cheng's new fund."
The highlights of the aforementioned reorganization during 2015 include:
Subsequent to December 31, 2015, the transition was completed:
Suspension of Quarterly Dividend
"We have gone through a lot of important change over the past twelve months and I believe we are a significantly better company today because of it," said Aston Hill President and Chief Executive Officer, James Werry. "As we continue into 2016, revisiting the way we allocate capital is part of our effort to position Aston Hill for this growth. The decision to suspend the dividend provides the opportunity for us to more flexibly allocate capital to other internal initiatives and reinvest in Aston Hill. Corporate initiatives that contribute to increasing assets under management as well as building on our relationships with investment advisors are key areas of focus for us."
The dividend suspension creates an additional $2.0 million of liquidity per year and is consistent with the Company's conservative approach to capital and risk management. The Board will continue to evaluate its dividend policy.
Financial Highlights | ||||||||
(in thousands of dollars, except assets under management and per share amounts) | ||||||||
As at December |
As at September |
As at December | ||||||
Assets under management (in billions) |
$ |
2.67 |
$ |
3.03 |
$ |
6.25 | ||
Total assets |
72,110 |
93,996 |
97,884 | |||||
Shares outstanding |
98,849 |
96,474 |
88,988 | |||||
For the three months ended |
December 31, |
September 30 |
December 31, | |||||
Total revenues |
$ |
7,579 |
$ |
8,508 |
$ |
11,710 | ||
Total expenses excluding finance expense |
25,080 |
7,355 |
9,267 | |||||
Total finance expense (income) |
(2,382) |
1,116 |
1,098 | |||||
(Loss) income before income taxes |
$ |
(15,119) |
$ |
37 |
$ |
1,345 | ||
Income tax (recovery) expense |
$ |
(2,860) |
$ |
87 |
$ |
433 | ||
Net income (loss) |
$ |
(12,259) |
$ |
(50) |
$ |
912 | ||
Net income to non-controlling interest |
222 |
195 |
338 | |||||
Net income (loss) to controlling interest |
$ |
(12,481) |
$ |
(245) |
$ |
(481) | ||
Per share – Basic |
$ |
(0.125) |
$ |
(0.003) |
$ |
0.006 | ||
Per share – Diluted |
$ |
(0.125) |
$ |
(0.003) |
$ |
0.006 | ||
Cash dividends declared per share |
$ |
0.005 |
$ |
0.005 |
$ |
0.015 | ||
EBITDA |
$ |
(16,439) |
$ |
2,034 |
$ |
3,202 | ||
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
(352) |
$ |
1,451 |
$ |
3,448 | ||
For the year ended |
December 31, |
December 31, |
||||||
Total revenues |
$ |
36,594 |
$ |
47,420 |
||||
Total expenses excluding finance expense |
53,724 |
38,719 |
||||||
Total finance expense |
852 |
4,273 |
||||||
Income before income taxes |
$ |
(17,982) |
$ |
4,428 |
||||
Income tax (recovery) expense |
$ |
(3,788) |
$ |
1,878 |
||||
Net income (loss) |
$ |
(14,194) |
$ |
2,550 |
||||
Net income to non-controlling interest |
782 |
1070 |
||||||
Net income (loss) to controlling interest |
$ |
(14,976) |
$ |
1,480 |
||||
Per share – Basic |
$ |
(0.162) |
$ |
0.017 |
||||
Per share – Diluted |
$ |
(0.162) |
$ |
0.017 |
||||
Cash dividends declared per share |
$ |
0.030 |
$ |
0.060 |
||||
EBITDA |
$ |
(14,269) |
$ |
11,565 |
||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
3,602 |
$ |
12,228 |
Aston Hill's Assets Under Management, Advisory and Administration ("AUM") decreased 11.9% year-over-year from $3.03 billion to $2.67 billion at December 31, 2015. The lower AUM is mainly the result of a reduction in institutional and sub-advisory assets and assets under administration. During the fourth quarter, gross sales of mutual funds were $70 million (net $75 million redemptions). Full year mutual fund gross sales of $363 million (net $192 million redemptions) represented a decrease of 31% from the prior year. The Company continues to focus its sales efforts on in-house managed funds, as they generate higher corporate average margins.
For the fourth quarter, Aston Hill's revenues were $7.6 million, a decrease of 35.0% from the prior year's fourth quarter revenues of $11.7 million. As well, fourth quarter revenues of $7.6 million decreased from the prior quarter total of $8.5 million. The revenue decrease was due to a reduction in revenues from sub-advisory mandates and institutional assets as well as net redemptions to open and closed end funds. Revenue generated by Aston Hill managed investment funds continues to increase as a percentage of total revenue (currently 79% compared to 65% in the prior year) as management remains focused on higher margin mutual fund growth. In-house mutual funds and closed end funds accounted for 82% of revenues for the fourth quarter.
Percent of Revenues by Source for Three Months Ended December 31, 2015 | |
Aston Hill Managed Investment Funds |
82% |
Sub-Advisory Mandates |
2% |
Institutional and Other |
6% |
Aston Hill Securities |
10% |
Total expenses (excluding finance expense) for the fourth quarter were higher at $25.1 million as compared to $9.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2014. The higher corporate expense is mainly due to an impairment loss on intangible assets recognized in the quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA (before stock-based compensation, impairment losses, and net investment gains or losses) for the fourth quarter was a loss of $0.4 million, a 131% decrease from the prior quarter adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 million due mainly to lower revenue in the fourth quarter. Net loss for the quarter was $12.5 million, reflecting the aforementioned intangible asset impairment loss, as compared to a net loss in the prior quarter of $0.2 million.
Significant Transactions Affecting Q4 2015 and Year Ended 2015 Results
Aston Hill Financial Inc. is a diversified asset management company with a suite of retail mutual funds, closed end funds, hedge funds and segregated institutional funds.
The TSX has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein.
For a detailed description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's annual financial statements and management discussion and analysis for the year ended December 31, 2015, both of which are available at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
SOURCE Aston Hill Financial Inc.