TSX Symbol: CIX

TORONTO, Aug. 10, 2017 /CNW/ - CI Financial Corp. ("CI") today released unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017.

Average assets under management were $122.7 billion for the second quarter of 2017, an increase of 13% from the second quarter of 2016. At June 30, 2017, CI's assets under management were $121.1 billion, up $11.5 billion from June 30, 2016.

CI reported gross sales of $3.8 billion for the three months ended June 30, 2017, up $1.2 billion from the same quarter last year, reflecting stronger fund performance, the addition of GSFM, as well as strategic initiatives targeting key channels. Redemptions for the quarter were $3.6 billion, an improvement of $0.5 billion from the second quarter of last year. As a result of higher gross sales and lower redemptions, CI's quarterly net sales turned positive and were at the highest level in almost two years. CI's net sales were $215 million for the quarter, consisting of $248 million for CI and First Asset, $119 million for GSFM's retail funds, and net redemptions of $152 million for GSFM's institutional funds.

Earnings per share in the second quarter of 2017 were $0.37 compared with $0.47 for the same quarter last year. Current income taxes for the second quarter of 2017 included a $45 million provision for the settlement of outstanding notices of reassessment relating to the interest rate charged on subordinated notes within CI's income trust structure for the years 2006 to 2008. CI had previously deposited $173 million with the Canada Revenue Agency in 2015 pending resolution of this dispute and expects the remainder, approximately $128 million, to be returned.

Excluding the above-mentioned income tax expense, earnings per share for the second quarter of 2017 were $0.54, up 15% from the second quarter of 2016, and up 6% compared to $0.51 for the first quarter of 2017. EBITDA per share was $0.85 for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, up 9% from $0.78 per share for the quarter ended June 30, 2016, and up 2% from $0.83 per share for the prior quarter.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of average assets under management were 36.5 basis points, down from 36.7 basis points in the first quarter of this year, and up from 36.2 basis points for the same quarter in 2016. The increase from the same quarter of last year was primarily due to continued investments in technology, sales and marketing.

CI generated $154.8 million in free cash flow during the quarter ended June 30, 2017, compared to $147.5 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2016. CI's cash flow facilitated the repurchase of $90.0 million in CI shares and the payment of $91.0 million in dividends. As at July 31, 2017, CI had 258,087,353 shares outstanding.

"After a good start to the year, we are very pleased to report continued improvement into the second quarter, with a 15% increase in adjusted earnings per share and our best quarterly net sales since 2015," said Peter W. Anderson, Chief Executive Officer of CI Financial. "Looking ahead to the second half, we continue to make strategic investments across the company to support further growth."

The Board of Directors declared a monthly cash dividend of $0.1175 per share, payable on each of September 15, 2017, October 13, 2017 and November 15, 2017 to shareholders of record on August 31, 2017, September 30, 2017 and October 31, 2017, respectively. The monthly dividend represented a yield of 5.4% on CI's closing share price of $26.26 on August 9, 2017.

For detailed financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, including Management's Discussion and Analysis, which contains discussions of non-IFRS measures, please refer to CI's website at www.cifinancial.com under Reports, or contact [email protected].

Analysts' Conference Call
Please note that the time and phone numbers for CI's conference call with analysts have been changed. The new time is 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time today. The call will be led by Chief Executive Officer Peter Anderson and Chief Financial Officer Douglas Jamieson. A slide presentation will be accessible through a webcast at www.ci.com/q2. Investors may listen to the discussion by dialing the updated numbers: (416) 641-6104 or 1-800-952-5114 (passcode: 5415686#).

A replay of the call will be available until August 24, 2017 at (905) 694-9451 or 1-800-408-3053 (passcode: 7326905#). The webcast will be archived at www.ci.com/q2.

CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX) is an independent, Canadian-owned wealth management company with approximately $161.7 billion in assets as of June 30, 2017. Its primary operating businesses are CI Investments Inc., one of Canada's largest investment managers, advisory businesses Assante Wealth Management and Stonegate Private Counsel, Grant Samuel Funds Management of Australia, and First Asset Investment Management, a leader in providing actively managed exchange-traded funds to the Canadian marketplace. CI is on the Web at www.cifinancial.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to CI and its products and services, including its business operations and strategy and financial performance and condition. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market factors, including interest rates, business competition, changes in government regulations or in tax laws, and other factors discussed in materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time.

SOURCE CI Financial Corp.

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