AGF Management Limited Reports Strong Second Quarter 2017 Financial Results

Asset Management
29.06.2017 08:45 am

AGF Management Limited (AGF or the Company) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended May 31, 2017.

Total assets under management (AUM) increased 8.0% to $36.4 billion compared to the same period in 2016, and up 3.7% compared to $35.1 billion as at February 28, 2017. AUM increased across all lines of business, including retail, private client, institutional and subadvisory, and the Company's alternative asset management platform.

During the three months ended May 31, 2017, retail fund net redemptions improved 62.1% to $107 million compared to net redemptions of $282 million for the three months ended May 31, 2016, reflecting the Company's continued focus on investment performance and customer service excellence.

On April 24, 2017, AGF further cemented its growing presence in the U.S. exchange-traded fund (ETF) marketplace with the official launch of its AGFiQ Asset Management (AGFiQ) quantitative solutions platform. AGFiQ has brought together an intellectually diverse, multi-discipline team that combines the complementary strength of investment professionals across AGF and its affiliates from Highstreet Asset Management Inc. (Highstreet) and FFCM, LLC (FFCM) to deliver innovative product ideas to manage volatility around specific client needs and outcomes.

"Our strong second quarter results reflect the strategy and vision we set in place," said Blake Goldring, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AGF Management Limited. "The diversification of our business both globally and into new growth businesses focused on alternative and factor-based investing, is yet another example of how we are repositioning the firm to meet the evolving needs of our clients."

Income from continuing operations for the three months ended May 31, 2017 increased 5.4% to $117.1 million compared to $111.1 million for the three months ended May 31, 2016. EBITDA from continuing operations increased 11.5% to $29.2 million for the three months ended May 31, 2017, compared to $26.2 million for the same period in 2016.

"We have moved to a place of consistent investment performance through our focused efforts on bringing discipline to our investment processes to deliver the repeatable results our clients expect of us," said Kevin McCreadie, President and Chief Investment Officer, AGF Investments Inc. "As a result, we are seeing our efforts reflected in the strengthening inflows experienced in our core retail business."

On May 31, 2017, through InstarAGF, the Company's alternative asset management platform, AGF achieved final close of EIF fund, reaching a fund size of $740 million.

Diluted earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations for the three months ended May 31, 2017 was $0.16, compared to $0.12 for the comparative period.

For the three months ended May 31, 2017, AGF declared an eight cent per share dividend on Class A Voting common shares and Class B Non-Voting shares, payable July 18, 2017 to shareholders on record as at July 10, 2017.


	(from continuing operations)	Three months ended				Six months ended
			May 31,	February 28,	May 31,		May 31,	May 31,
	(in millions of Canadian dollars, except per share data)		2017	2017	2016		2017	2016

	Income		117.1	107.2	111.1		224.3	214.4
	Net Income attributable to equity owners of the
	Company		13.2	9.2	9.6		22.4	19.8

	EBITDA 1		29.2	25.7	26.2		54.8	53.5
	Adjusted EBITDA 1		29.2	25.7	27.7		54.8	55.0

	Diluted earnings per share attributable to
	equity owners of the Company		0.16	0.11	0.12		0.28	0.25

	Adjusted diluted earnings per share attributable to
	equity owners of the Company 1		0.16	0.11	0.13		0.28	0.26

	Free Cash Flow 1		10.4	10.4	16.4		20.9	27.4
	Dividends per share		0.08	0.08	0.08		0.16	0.16
	Long-term debt		168.4	198.3	228.9		168.4	228.9

1 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), adjusted EBITDA, adjusted diluted earnings per share and Free Cash Flow are not standardized measures prescribed by IFRS. The Company utilizes non-IFRS measures to assess our overall performance and facilitate a comparison of quarterly and full-year results from period to period. They allow us to assess our investment management business without the impact of non-operational items. These non-IFRS measures may not be comparable with similar measures presented by other companies. These non-IFRS measures and reconciliations to IFRS, where necessary, are included in the Management's Discussion and Analysis available at www.agf.com.


		Three months ended
			May 31,	February 28,	November 30,		August 31,	May 31,
	(in millions of Canadian dollars)		2017	2017	2016	1	2016	2016

	Retail fund Assets Under Management (AUM)
	(including retail pooled funds)		18,884	18,299	17,774		17,811	17,539
	Institutional, sub-advisory and ETF accounts AUM		11,336	10,960	10,810		11,033	11,087
	Private client AUM		5,323	5,143	4,908		4,784	4,586
	Alternative asset management platform AUM 2		902	712	685		619	535
	Total AUM, including alternative asset
	management platform		36,445	35,114	34,177		34,247	33,747

	Net retail redemptions		107	119	214		303	282
	Average daily retail fund AUM		18,647	17,925	17,756		17,682	17,376

1 Net retail redemptions includes a $149.4 million transfer of an existing client from institutional to retail.
2 Represents fee-earning committed and/or invested capital from AGF and external investors held through joint ventures. AGF's portion of this commitment is $150.0 million, of which $76.0 million has been funded as at May 31, 2017, which includes $10.1 million return of capital related to the monetization of its seed assets.