TORONTO, May 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) (“ECN Capital” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the three-month period ending March 31, 2019. Readers should note that as of January 1, 2018, the Company changed its presentation and functional currency from Canadian dollars to U.S. dollars.
For the three-month period ending March 31, 2019, ECN Capital reported Adjusted Net Income applicable to common shareholders of $12.6 million or $0.05 per share (basic) versus $15.4 million or $0.05 per share (basic) for the previous three-month period ending December 31, 2018 and a loss of $2.0 million or $(0.01) per share (basic) for the same period last year.
“ECN had a solid Q1 across the board earning $0.05, which exceeded our previous guidance of $0.02 - $0.03”, said Steven Hudson, CEO of ECN Capital Corp. “Further, we are raising the range of expected EPS in 2019 from $0.23 - $0.25 to $0.25 - $0.28, a 10%+ improvement at the midpoint.”
Originations for the three-month period ending March 31, 2019 were $419.2 million versus $463.1 million in the previous three-month period and $335.7 million for the same period last year.
Total Earning Assets Managed and Advised as at March 31, 2019 were $31.9 billion, versus $31.1 billion in the previous three-month period and $3.2 billion for the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA for the three-month period ending March 31, 2019 was $26.7 million versus $34.1 million for the previous three-month period and $6.5 million for the same period last year.
Operating Expenses for the three-month period ending March 31, 2019 were $29.9 million versus $33.3 million reported for the previous three-month period and $18.9 million for the same period last year.
Net Income (loss) for the three-month period ending March 31, 2019 was $(22.9) million versus $(105.1) million for the previous three-month period and $3.3 million for the same period last year.
Management Transition Complete
Steven Hudson, CEO, has agreed to extend his employment contract to 2023. ECN also announced the retirement of Jim Nikopoulos as President effective today, May 8, 2019, and thanked him for all his significant contributions to the success of ECN.
“I want to thank Jim for his tremendous contributions to the success of ECN as both the President and previously the Chief Operating Officer”, said Steven Hudson. “Jim led the successful exit of ECN’s legacy businesses and was paramount to the transition to the business we have today”, Mr. Hudson continued, “We wish Jim well in all his future endeavors.”
Dividends Declared
The Company’s Board of Directors has authorized and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per outstanding common share of ECN Capital for the second quarter of 2019. The dividend will be paid on July 15, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 28, 2019. These dividends are designated to be eligible dividends for purposes of section 89(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
The Company’s Board of Directors declared the following dividends on ECN Capital’s preferred shares:
- A quarterly dividend of $0.40625 per outstanding Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Share, Series A (TSX: ECN.PR.A) payable on July 2, 2019 to shareholders of record on the close of business on June 17, 2019. These dividends are designated to be eligible dividends for purposes of section 89(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
- A quarterly dividend of $0.390625 per outstanding Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Share, Series C (TSX: ECN.PR.C) payable on July 2, 2019 to shareholders of record on the close of business on June 17, 2019. These dividends are designated to be eligible dividends for purposes of section 89(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
Webcast
The Company will host an analyst briefing to discuss these results commencing at 5:30 PM (ET) on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. The call can be accessed as follows:
| Webcast | http://services.choruscall.ca/links/ecncapitalcorp20190508.html |
| Toll-free dial in | North America 1-800-319-8560 International 1-604-638-5345 Passcode 47234# |
| Presentation slides | http://ecncapitalcorp.com/investors/presentations |
The webcast will be available until June 8, 2019. A recording of the conference call may also be accessed until August 8, 2019 by dialing 1-800-319-6413 and entering the passcode 3192#.
Non-IFRS Measures
The Company’s audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and the accounting policies we adopted in accordance with IFRS.
The Company believes that certain Non-IFRS Measures can be useful to investors because they provide a means by which investors can evaluate the Company’s underlying key drivers and operating performance of the business, exclusive of certain adjustments and activities that investors may consider to be unrelated to the underlying economic performance of the business of a given period. Throughout this Press Release, management used a number of terms and ratios which do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS and are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other organizations. A full description of these measures can be found in the Management Discussion & Analysis that accompanies the financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2019.
ECN Capital’s management discussion and analysis as at and for the three-month period ended March 31, 2019 has been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and is available under the investor section of the Company’s website (www.ecnapitalcorp.com).
About ECN Capital Corp.
With managed and advised assets of US$32 billion, ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) is a leading provider of prime credit portfolios to more than ninety US financial institutions. ECN Capital originates, manages and advises on prime credit assets offering unsecured and secured consumer portfolio solutions as well as credit card portfolios. These services are offered through three operating businesses: Service Finance, Triad Financial Services and The Kessler Group.
Contact:
| John Wimsatt 647-649-4634 jwimsatt@ecncapitalcorp.com |
Forward-looking Statements
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding ECN Capital and its business. Such statements are based on the current expectations and views of future events of ECN Capital’s management. In some cases the forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “potential”, “estimate”, “believe” or the negative of these terms, or other similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include those relating to the future financial and operating performance of ECN Capital, the strategic advantages, business plans and future opportunities of ECN Capital and the ability of ECN Capital to access adequate funding sources, identify and execute on acquisition opportunities and transition to an asset management business. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting ECN Capital, including risks regarding the equipment finance industry, economic factors, and many other factors beyond the control of ECN Capital. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. A discussion of the material risks and assumptions associated with this outlook can be found in ECN Capital’s March 31, 2019 MD&A and Alternate AIF Disclosure Document dated March 19, 2019 which has been filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and ECN Capital does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.