Management commentary
“Assets Under Management (“AUM”) were
“Our resilient business model allows us to invest through the cycles irrespective of market conditions. We are actively developing new products in all of our asset management businesses. Notably, we continue to build scale in our ETF business through the completion of the previously announced acquisition of the North Shore Global Uranium Miners ETF (“URNM”) and, the recently announced launch of the Sprott ESG Gold ETF, the world’s first ETF to exclusively source and refine gold from globally recognized leaders in ESG based on special criteria developed by Sprott. Sprott is pleased to have partnered with Agnico Eagle, Yamana Gold and the Royal Canadian Mint on this new initiative," concluded
Financial highlights1
Key AUM highlights
- AUM was
$21.9 billion as atJune 30, 2022 , down$1.7 billion (7%) fromMarch 31, 2022 and up$1.5 billion (7%) fromDecember 31, 2021 . Our AUM was negatively impacted on both a three and six months ended basis by market value depreciation across our fund products. However, on a six months ended basis, our cumulative market value declines were offset by strong inflows to our physical trusts, private strategies and the onboarding of AUM from the URNM acquisition that added over$1 billion to our AUM in the quarter.
Key revenue highlights
- Management fees were
$30.6 million in the quarter, up$5.6 million (22%) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$57.8 million on a year-to-date basis, up$10.3 million (22%) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 . Carried interest and performance fees were nil in the quarter and$2 million on a year-to-date basis, down$5.9 million (74%) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 . Net fees were$28.1 million in the quarter, up$4.9 million (21%) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$53.6 million on a year-to-date basis, up$6.7 million (14%) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 . Our revenue performance was primarily due to strong net inflows to our exchange listed products segment (primarily our physical uranium and gold trusts) and higher average AUM from the URNM acquisition. We also benefited from inflows to our private strategies segment. These increases were partially offset by lower carried interest crystallization in our private strategies segment on a year-to-date basis. - Commission revenues were
$6.5 million in the quarter, down$0.9 million (12%) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$19.5 million on a year-to-date basis, down$0.3 million (2%) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 . Net commissions were$3.4 million in the quarter, down$0.8 million (20%) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$10.1 million on a year-to-date basis, down$1.1 million (10%) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 . Lower commissions were due to weaker mining equity origination activity in our brokerage segment that was partially offset by commissions earned on the purchase of uranium in our exchange listed products segment. - Finance income was
$1.2 million in the quarter, up$0.3 million (27%) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$2.6 million on a year to date basis, up$0.4 million (20%) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 . Our results were primarily driven by higher income generation in co-investment positions we hold in LPs managed in our private strategies segment.
Key expense highlights
- Net compensation expense was
$13.9 million in the quarter, up$3.1 million (29%) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$29.7 million on a year-to-date basis, up$7 million (31%) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 . The increase was primarily due to higher long-term incentive plan ("LTIP") amortization and higher salaries on new hires that were partially offset by lower annual incentive compensation ("AIP"). - SG&A was
$4.2 million in the quarter, up$0.7 million (21%) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$7.7 million on a year-to-date basis, up$0.8 million (12%) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 . The increase was mainly due to higher marketing and technology costs.
1 See “non-IFRS financial measures” section on this press release and schedule 2 and 3 of "Supplemental financial information"
Earnings summary
- Net income was
$0.8 million ($0.03 per share) in the quarter, down 93%, or$10.3 million ($0.41 per share) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$7.2 million on a year-to-date basis ($0.29 per share), down 49%, or$7.1 million ($0.28 per share) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 .
Adjusted base EBITDA was$17.9 million ($0.71 per share) in the quarter, up 19%, or$2.9 million ($0.11 per share) from the quarter endedJune 30, 2021 and$36.1 million ($1.44 per share) on a year-to-date basis up 22%, or$6.4 million ($0.25 per share) from the six months endedJune 30, 2021 .
Net income on both a three and six months ended basis was negatively impacted by net market value depreciation of our co-investments as a result of the recent pull back in market valuations across most global asset classes as well as unrealized market value declines on the mark-to-market of certain digital gold strategies. On a quarterly and year-to-date basis, Adjusted base EBITDA benefited from strong net inflows into our physical trusts (primarily our physical uranium and gold trusts), the URNM acquisition and inflows to our private strategies products. These increases were only partially offset by weaker mining equity origination activity in our brokerage segment.
Subsequent events
- On
August 1, 2022 , the Sprott Board of Directors announced a quarterly dividend of$0.25 per share.
Supplemental financial information
Please refer to the
Schedule 1 - AUM continuity
3 months results | ||||||||||
(In millions $) | AUM | Net inflows (1) | Market value changes | Other (2) | AUM | Blended net management fee rate (3) | ||||
Exchange listed products | ||||||||||
- Physical trusts | ||||||||||
- | 5,887 | 219 | (415 | ) | - | 5,691 | 0.35% | |||
- | 4,302 | (14 | ) | (462 | ) | - | 3,826 | 0.40% | ||
- | 3,942 | 59 | (734 | ) | - | 3,267 | 0.45% | |||
- | 3,144 | 210 | (425 | ) | - | 2,929 | 0.30% | |||
- | 164 | 5 | (22 | ) | - | 147 | 0.50% | |||
- Exchange Traded Funds | ||||||||||
- Uranium ETFs | - | 12 | (296 | ) | 1,042 | 758 | 0.68% | |||
- Gold ETFs | 430 | (1 | ) | (124 | ) | - | 305 | 0.35% | ||
17,869 | 490 | (2,478 | ) | 1,042 | 16,923 | 0.39% | ||||
Managed equities | ||||||||||
- Precious metals strategies | 2,364 | (14 | ) | (636 | ) | - | 1,714 | 0.88% | ||
- Other (4)(5) | 1,239 | 15 | (289 | ) | - | 965 | 1.14% | |||
3,603 | 1 | (925 | ) | - | 2,679 | 0.97% | ||||
Private strategies | 1,441 | 302 | (14 | ) | (118 | ) | 1,611 | 0.77% | ||
Non-core AUM (6) | 766 | - | (34 | ) | - | 732 | 0.51% | |||
Total(7) | 23,679 | 793 | (3,451 | ) | 924 | 21,945 | 0.49% | |||
6 months results | ||||||||||
(In millions $) | AUM | Net inflows (1) | Market value changes | Other (2) | AUM | Blended net management fee rate (3) | ||||
Exchange listed products | ||||||||||
- Physical trusts | ||||||||||
- | 5,008 | 809 | (126 | ) | - | 5,691 | 0.35% | |||
- | 4,094 | (48 | ) | (220 | ) | - | 3,826 | 0.40% | ||
- | 3,600 | 182 | (515 | ) | - | 3,267 | 0.45% | |||
- | 1,769 | 849 | 311 | - | 2,929 | 0.30% | ||||
- | 132 | 24 | (9 | ) | - | 147 | 0.50% | |||
- Exchange Traded Funds | ||||||||||
- Uranium ETFs | - | 12 | (296 | ) | 1,042 | 758 | 0.68% | |||
- Gold ETFs | 356 | 15 | (66 | ) | - | 305 | 0.35% | |||
14,959 | 1,843 | (921 | ) | 1,042 | 16,923 | 0.39% | ||||
Managed equities | ||||||||||
- Precious metals strategies | 2,141 | (7 | ) | (420 | ) | - | 1,714 | 0.88% | ||
- Other (4)(5) | 1,141 | 43 | (219 | ) | - | 965 | 1.14% | |||
3,282 | 36 | (639 | ) | - | 2,679 | 0.97% | ||||
Private strategies | 1,426 | 310 | (7 | ) | (118 | ) | 1,611 | 0.77% | ||
Non-core AUM (6) | 776 | - | (44 | ) | - | 732 | 0.51% | |||
Total(7) | 20,443 | 2,189 | (1,611 | ) | 924 | 21,945 | 0.49% | |||
(1) See 'Net inflows' in the key performance indicators and non-IFRS and other financial measures section of the MD&A. | ||||||||||
(2) Includes new AUM from fund acquisitions and lost AUM from fund divestitures and capital distributions of our private strategies LPs. | ||||||||||
(3) Management fee rate represents the weighted average fees for all funds in the category. | ||||||||||
(4) Includes institutional managed accounts and high net worth discretionary managed accounts in the | ||||||||||
(5) Prior year figures have been restated to confirm with current year presentation. See the "Business overview" section of the MD&A. | ||||||||||
(6) Previously called Other, this AUM is related to our legacy asset management business in | ||||||||||
(7) No performance fees are earned on exchange listed products. Performance fees are earned on all precious metals strategies (other than bullion funds) and are based on returns above relevant benchmarks. Other managed equities strategies primarily earn performance fees on flow-through products. Private strategies LPs earn carried interest calculated as a pre-determined net profit over a preferred return. |
Schedule 2 - Summary financial information
(In thousands $) | Q2 2022 | Q1 2022 | Q4 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q2 2021 | Q1 2021 | Q4 2020 | Q3 2020 | ||||||||
Summary income statements | ||||||||||||||||
Management fees | 30,620 | 27,172 | 27,783 | 28,612 | 25,062 | 22,452 | 22,032 | 19,934 | ||||||||
Trailer, sub-advisor and fund expense | (1,258 | ) | (853 | ) | (872 | ) | (637 | ) | (552 | ) | (599 | ) | (583 | ) | (527 | ) |
Direct payouts | (1,272 | ) | (1,384 | ) | (1,367 | ) | (1,892 | ) | (1,198 | ) | (890 | ) | (695 | ) | (476 | ) |
Carried interest and performance fees | - | 2,046 | 4,298 | - | - | 7,937 | 10,075 | - | ||||||||
Carried interest and performance fee payouts - internal | - | (1,029 | ) | (2,516 | ) | - | (126 | ) | (4,580 | ) | (5,529 | ) | - | |||
Carried interest and performance fee payouts - external (1) | - | (476 | ) | (790 | ) | - | - | (595 | ) | - | - | |||||
Net fees | 28,090 | 25,476 | 26,536 | 26,083 | 23,186 | 23,725 | 25,300 | 18,931 | ||||||||
Commissions | 6,458 | 13,077 | 14,153 | 11,273 | 7,377 | 12,463 | 6,761 | 9,386 | ||||||||
Commission expense - internal | (2,034 | ) | (3,134 | ) | (4,128 | ) | (3,089 | ) | (3,036 | ) | (5,289 | ) | (2,093 | ) | (3,313 | ) |
Commission expense - external (1) | (978 | ) | (3,310 | ) | (3,016 | ) | (2,382 | ) | (49 | ) | (253 | ) | (98 | ) | (344 | ) |
Net Commissions | 3,446 | 6,633 | 7,009 | 5,802 | 4,292 | 6,921 | 4,570 | 5,729 | ||||||||
Finance income | 1,186 | 1,433 | 788 | 567 | 932 | 1,248 | 1,629 | 757 | ||||||||
Gain (loss) on investments | (7,884 | ) | (1,473 | ) | (43 | ) | 310 | 2,502 | (4,652 | ) | (3,089 | ) | 4,408 | |||
Other income | 170 | 208 | 313 | 529 | 438 | 303 | 949 | 914 | ||||||||
Total net revenues | 25,008 | 32,277 | 34,603 | 33,291 | 31,350 | 27,545 | 29,359 | 30,739 | ||||||||
Compensation | 19,364 | 21,789 | 20,632 | 18,001 | 15,452 | 22,636 | 20,193 | 16,280 | ||||||||
Direct payouts | (1,272 | ) | (1,384 | ) | (1,367 | ) | (1,892 | ) | (1,198 | ) | (890 | ) | (695 | ) | (476 | ) |
Carried interest and performance fee payouts - internal | - | (1,029 | ) | (2,516 | ) | - | (126 | ) | (4,580 | ) | (5,529 | ) | - | |||
Commission expense - internal | (2,034 | ) | (3,134 | ) | (4,128 | ) | (3,089 | ) | (3,036 | ) | (5,289 | ) | (2,093 | ) | (3,313 | ) |
Severance, new hire accruals and other (2) | (2,113 | ) | (514 | ) | (187 | ) | (207 | ) | (293 | ) | (44 | ) | (65 | ) | (210 | ) |
Net compensation | 13,945 | 15,728 | 12,434 | 12,813 | 10,799 | 11,833 | 11,811 | 12,281 | ||||||||
Severance, new hire accruals and other | 2,113 | 514 | 187 | 207 | 293 | 44 | 65 | 210 | ||||||||
Selling, general and administrative | 4,221 | 3,438 | 4,172 | 3,682 | 3,492 | 3,351 | 2,320 | 2,465 | ||||||||
Interest expense | 483 | 480 | 239 | 312 | 260 | 350 | 331 | 320 | ||||||||
Depreciation and amortization | 959 | 976 | 1,136 | 1,134 | 1,165 | 1,117 | 1,023 | 992 | ||||||||
Other expenses | 868 | 1,976 | 2,910 | 3,875 | 876 | 4,918 | 4,528 | 4,154 | ||||||||
Total expenses | 22,589 | 23,112 | 21,078 | 22,023 | 16,885 | 21,613 | 20,078 | 20,422 | ||||||||
Net income | 757 | 6,473 | 10,171 | 8,718 | 11,075 | 3,221 | 6,720 | 8,704 | ||||||||
Net Income per share | 0.03 | 0.26 | 0.41 | 0.35 | 0.44 | 0.13 | 0.27 | 0.36 | ||||||||
Adjusted base EBITDA | 17,909 | 18,173 | 17,705 | 16,713 | 15,050 | 14,605 | 14,751 | 12,024 | ||||||||
Adjusted base EBITDA per share | 0.71 | 0.73 | 0.71 | 0.67 | 0.60 | 0.59 | 0.60 | 0.49 | ||||||||
Operating margin | 55% | 57% | 55% | 52% | 52% | 51% | 51% | 47% | ||||||||
Summary balance sheet | ||||||||||||||||
Total assets | 376,128 | 380,843 | 365,873 | 375,819 | 361,121 | 356,986 | 377,348 | 358,300 | ||||||||
Total liabilities | 89,264 | 83,584 | 74,654 | 84,231 | 64,081 | 67,015 | 86,365 | 81,069 | ||||||||
Total AUM | 21,944,675 | 23,679,354 | 20,443,088 | 19,016,313 | 18,550,106 | 17,073,078 | 17,390,389 | 16,259,184 | ||||||||
Average AUM | 23,388,568 | 21,646,082 | 20,229,119 | 19,090,702 | 18,343,846 | 17,188,205 | 16,719,815 | 16,705,046 | ||||||||
(1) These amounts are included in the "Trailer, sub-advisor and fund expenses" line on the consolidated statements of operations. | ||||||||||||||||
(2) The majority of the Q2 2022 amount is compensation and other transition payments to the former CEO that will be paid out over 3 years. |
Schedule 3 - EBITDA reconciliation
3 months ended | 6 months ended | |||||||
(in thousands $) | ||||||||
Net income for the periods | 757 | 11,075 | 7,230 | 14,296 | ||||
Adjustments: | ||||||||
Interest expense | 483 | 260 | 963 | 610 | ||||
Provision for income taxes | 1,662 | 3,390 | 4,354 | 6,101 | ||||
Depreciation and amortization | 959 | 1,165 | 1,935 | 2,282 | ||||
EBITDA | 3,861 | 15,890 | 14,482 | 23,289 | ||||
Other adjustments: | ||||||||
(Gain) loss on investments (1) | 7,884 | (2,502 | ) | 9,357 | 2,150 | |||
Amortization of stock based compensation | 3,101 | 423 | 7,278 | 796 | ||||
Other expenses (2) | 3,063 | 1,113 | 5,506 | 6,056 | ||||
Adjusted EBITDA | 17,909 | 14,924 | 36,623 | 32,291 | ||||
Other adjustments: | ||||||||
Carried interest and performance fees | - | - | (2,046 | ) | (7,937 | ) | ||
Carried interest and performance fee payouts - internal | - | 126 | 1,029 | 4,706 | ||||
Carried interest and performance fee payouts - external | - | - | 476 | 595 | ||||
Adjusted base EBITDA | 17,909 | 15,050 | 36,082 | 29,655 | ||||
Operating margin (3) | 55 | % | 52 | % | 56 | % | 51 | % |
(1) This adjustment removes the income effects of certain gains or losses on short-term investments, co-investments, and digital gold strategies to ensure the reporting objectives of our EBITDA metric as described below are met.
(2) In addition to the items outlined in Note 5 of the interim financial statements, this reconciliation line also includes
(3) Calculated as adjusted base EBITDA inclusive of depreciation and amortization. This figure is then divided by revenues before gains (losses) on investments, net of direct costs as applicable.
Conference Call and Webcast
A webcast will be held today,
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/nnm2fbz4.
Please note, analysts who cover the company should register at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI3a8f92db523d446294ec50bcf3e57349 to participate in the live Q&A session.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
This press release includes financial terms (including AUM, net revenues, net commissions, net fees, expenses, adjusted base EBITDA, net compensation) that the Company utilizes to assess the financial performance of its business that are not measures recognized under International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”). These non-IFRS measures should not be considered alternatives to performance measures determined in accordance with IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Non-IFRS financial measures do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Our key performance indicators and non-IFRS and other financial measures are discussed below. For quantitative reconciliations of non-IFRS financial measures to their most directly comparable IFRS financial measures please see schedule 2 and schedule 3 of the "Supplemental financial information" section of this press release.
Net fees
Management fees, net of trailer, sub-advisor, fund expenses and direct payouts, and carried interest and performance fees, net of carried interest and performance fee payouts (internal and external), are key revenue indicators as they represent the net revenue contribution after directly associated costs that we generate from our AUM.
Net commissions
Commissions, net of commission expenses (internal and external), arise primarily from transaction-based service offerings of our brokerage segment and purchases and sales of uranium in our exchange listed products segment.
Net compensation
Net compensation excludes commission expenses paid to employees, other direct payouts to employees, carried interest and performance fee payouts to employees, which are all presented net of their related revenues in the MD&A, and severance, new hire accruals and other which are non-recurring.
EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted base EBITDA
EBITDA in its most basic form is defined as earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is a measure commonly used in the investment industry by management, investors and investment analysts in understanding and comparing results by factoring out the impact of different financing methods, capital structures, amortization techniques and income tax rates between companies in the same industry. While other companies, investors or investment analysts may not utilize the same method of calculating EBITDA (or adjustments thereto), the Company believes its adjusted base EBITDA metric, in particular, results in a better comparison of the Company's underlying operations against its peers and a better indicator of recurring results from operations as compared to other non-IFRS financial measures.
Forward Looking Statements
Although the Company believes that the Forward-Looking Statements are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future results, performance or achievements. A number of factors or assumptions have been used to develop the Forward-Looking Statements, including: (i) the impact of increasing competition in each business in which the Company operates will not be material; (ii) quality management will be available; (iii) the effects of regulation and tax laws of governmental agencies will be consistent with the current environment; (iv) the impact of COVID-19; and (v) those assumptions disclosed under the heading "Critical Accounting Estimates, Judgments and Changes in Accounting Policies" in the Company’s MD&A for the period ended
About Sprott
Sprott is a global leader in precious metal and real asset investments. We are specialists. Our in-depth knowledge, experience and relationships separate us from the generalists. Our investment strategies include Exchange Listed Products,
Investor contact information:
Managing Director
Investor and Institutional Client Relations;
Head of Corporate Communications
(416) 943-4394
gwilliams@sprott.com
Source:
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