TSX Symbol: CIX

TORONTO, Nov. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - CI Financial Corp. ("CI") today released unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.

Earnings per share in the third quarter of 2017 were $0.55, up 8% from $0.51 for the same quarter of last year. EBITDA per share was $0.87 for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, up 5% from $0.83 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, and up 2% from $0.85 per share for the prior quarter.

"CI recorded a strong quarter, with earnings per share growing 8% year over year, and we are seeing solid results across our business lines," said Peter W. Anderson, CI Chief Executive Officer. "We are also pleased to report that the integration of Sentry Investments is proceeding well. The acquisitions of Sentry and BBS Securities are important strategic investments and will make significant contributions to the growth of CI."

CI's acquisition of Sentry Investments Corp. closed on October 2, 2017. Following the acquisition, CI's assets under management were $143.8 billion, as of October 31, 2017. The acquisition of BBS Securities Inc. and associated entities was completed on November 1, 2017 and includes Pario Technology Corp., a financial technology company, and Virtual Brokers, a top-ranked online brokerage.

Average assets under management for the third quarter of 2017 were $120.3 billion, an increase of 7% from the third quarter of 2016. At September 30, 2017, CI's assets under management were $121.7 billion, up $9.2 billion from September 30, 2016.

CI's Canadian retail business, excluding products that are closed to new investors, had $666 million in net sales for the year-to-date, with a relatively flat third quarter. CI's Canadian institutional business (CI Institutional Asset Management) had a very strong quarter and year-to-date with $358 million and $612 million in net sales, respectively. CI's international retail business (Grant Samuel Funds Management of Australia, "GSFM") continued its growth with $161 million and $373 million in net sales for the quarter and year-to-date, respectively. CI's international institutional business (GSFM) had net redemptions of $175 million for the quarter, which contributed to year-to-date net redemptions of $752 million. Products that were closed to new investors, including segregated funds, structured notes and closed-end funds, had net redemptions of $322 million for the quarter and net redemptions of $1 billion for the year-to-date. In total, CI had $15 million in net sales for the quarter and $58 million in net redemptions for the year-to-date.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of average assets under management were 35.9 basis points, down from 36.5 basis points in the second quarter of this year, and up from 35.4 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 $159.1 million in free cash flow during the quarter ended September 30, 2017, compared to $159.6 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2016. During the third quarter of 2017, CI repurchased $100.0 million in shares and paid $91.0 million in dividends. As at October 31, 2017, CI had 274,943,493 shares outstanding.

CI is maintaining its dividend at the current level. The Board of Directors declared a monthly cash dividend of $0.1175 per share, payable on each of December 15, 2017, January 15, 2018 and February 15, 2018 to shareholders of record on November 30, 2017, December 31, 2017 and January 31, 2018, respectively. The monthly dividend represented a yield of 5.0% on CI's closing share price of $28.17 on November 8, 2017.

CI's dividend payments equate to a payout ratio of approximately 60% of free cash flow; however, the payout ratio will trend lower to the extent that free cash flow grows from current levels. CI is also prepared to increase the level of share repurchases as opportunities arise. This will increase debt to the extent that repurchases exceed free cash flow after the payment of dividends.

For detailed financial statements for the quarter ended September 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
CI will hold a conference call with analysts today at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, 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/q3. Alternatively, investors may listen to the discussion by dialling: (416) 406-0743 or 1-800-898-3989 (passcode: 4363471#).

A replay of the call will be available until November 23, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. at (905) 694-9451 or 1-800-408-3053 (passcode: 6407151#). The webcast will be archived at www.ci.com/q3.

CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX) is an independent Canadian company offering global asset management and wealth management advisory services. Its primary operating businesses are CI Investments Inc., Sentry Investments Inc., Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd., Stonegate Private Counsel, Grant Samuel Funds Management Pty Ltd. of Australia, First Asset Investment Management Inc., and BBS Securities Inc. Further information is available 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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