Canada NewsWire
TORONTO, May 11, 2016
TORONTO, May 11, 2016 /CNW/ - Aston Hill Financial Inc. ("Aston Hill" or the "Company") (TSX:AHF) announces it has filed its Consolidated Financial Statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 and related Management's Discussion and Analysis with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
"The first quarter was marked by further market volatility and it served to confirm the importance of our risk-averse investment approach." said Aston Hill CEO, James Werry. "Operationally we continue to focus on expense management and have been successful in earmarking substantial savings opportunities that will be fully evaluated in the coming months. We are making significant headway with our product shelf streamlining and our initial proposals have been well received by our ad hoc advisor panels. On the sales and marketing front our team is ramping up for a focused sales campaign into the MFDA channel."
Financial Highlights |
|||||||
(in thousands of dollars, except assets under management and |
|||||||
As at March 31, 2016 |
As at December 31, 2015 |
As at March 31, 2015 | |||||
Assets under management (in billions) |
$ |
2.19 |
$ |
2.67 |
$ |
4.12 | |
Total assets |
67,322 |
72,110 |
92,051 | ||||
Shares outstanding |
98,576 |
98,849 |
89,488 | ||||
For the three months ended |
March 31, 2016 |
December 31, 2015 |
March 31, 2015 | ||||
Total revenues |
$ |
6,165 |
$ |
7,579 |
$ |
10,687 | |
Total expenses excluding finance expense |
7,483 |
25,080 |
9,675 | ||||
Total finance expense (income) |
1,038 |
(2,382) |
1,026 | ||||
(Loss) income before income taxes |
$ |
(2,356) |
$ |
(15,119) |
$ |
(14) | |
Income tax (recovery) expense |
$ |
(809) |
$ |
(2,860) |
$ |
(40) | |
Net income (loss) |
$ |
(1,547) |
$ |
(12,259) |
$ |
26 | |
Net income to non-controlling interest |
132 |
222 |
201 | ||||
Net income (loss) to controlling interest |
$ |
(1,679) |
$ |
(12,481) |
$ |
(175) | |
Per share – Basic |
$ |
(0.017) |
$ |
(0.125) |
$ |
(0.002) | |
Per share – Diluted |
$ |
(0.017) |
$ |
(0.125) |
$ |
(0.002) | |
Cash dividends declared per share |
$ |
- |
$ |
0.005 |
$ |
0.015 | |
EBITDA |
$ |
(728) |
$ |
(16,439) |
$ |
1,514 | |
Adjusted EBITDA |
$ |
(831) |
$ |
(352) |
$ |
1,409 |
Aston Hill's Assets Under Management, Advisory and Administration ("AUM") decreased from $2.67 billion at December 31, 2015 to $2.19 billion at March 31, 2016. The lower AUM is mainly the result of the sale of Aston Hill Securities Inc., and reductions in closed and open end funds AUM. During the first quarter, gross sales of mutual funds were $60 million and net redemptions of $42 million.).
For the first quarter, Aston Hill's revenues were $6.2 million, a decrease of 18.7% from the prior quarter revenues of $7.6 million. The revenue decrease was mainly due to 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 85% compared to 82% in the prior quarter) as management remains focused on higher margin mutual fund growth.
Percent of Revenues by Source for Three Months Ended March 31, 2016 | |
Aston Hill Managed Investment Funds |
85% |
Sub-Advisory Mandates |
2% |
Institutional and Other |
6% |
Aston Hill Securities |
7% |
Total expenses (excluding finance expense) for the fourth quarter were lower at $7.5 million as compared to $25.1 million for the prior quarter. The higher corporate expense is mainly due to an impairment loss on intangible assets recognized in the prior quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA (before stock-based compensation, impairment losses, and net investment gains or losses) for the fourth quarter was a loss of $0.8 million, a 136% decrease from the prior quarter adjusted EBITDA of $0.4 million due mainly to lower revenue, partially offset by lower expenses in the first quarter. Net loss for the quarter was $1.7 million, as compared to a net loss in the prior quarter of $12.5 million, reflecting the aforementioned intangible asset impairment loss in the previous quarter.
Impacts on Q1 2016 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 Asset Management Inc.