TORONTO, March 11, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sprott Inc. (TSX:SII) (“Sprott” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the 12-months ended December 31, 2015.

2015 Financial Overview

• Assets Under Management (“AUM”) was $7.4 billion as at December 31, 2015, compared to $7.0 billion as at December 31, 2014 and $7.4 billion as at September 30, 2015.
• Assets Under Administration (“AUA”) was $2.0 billion as at December 31, 2015, compared to $1.9 billion as at December 31, 2014 and $2.0 billion as at September 30, 2015.
• Total revenues were $126.0 million, reflecting an increase of $1.5 million (1%) from the twelve months ended December 31, 2014.
• Total expenses were $157.0 million, reflecting an increase of $60.5 million (63%) from the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. The increase in total expenses year-over-year is due primarily to a series of one-time, non-cash charges including impairment charges on goodwill and intangible assets and loan loss provisions. 
• General loan loss provisions were $1.2 million on a twelve months ended basis and are new for the year. Specific loan loss provisions were $8.0 million, reflecting an increase of $7.5 million from the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. 
• At September 30, 2015, goodwill resulting from the acquisition of Global Companies was assessed as being impaired and a charge against earnings in the amount of $28.5 million was taken at that time. At December 31, 2015, goodwill resulting from the acquisition of Sprott Toscana was assessed as also being impaired and a charge against earnings in the amount of $3.2 million was taken in the current quarter.
• Impairment charges on intangible assets during the year included: (1) a $0.4 million charge on fixed-term limited partnership contracts in Global Companies taken in the third quarter; (2) a $2.3 million charge on carried interests in Global Companies taken in the first and third quarters; and (3) a $9.3 million charge on the TEIC management contract in the Consulting segment taken in the third quarter.
• Net loss was $39.6 million ($(0.16) per share), reflecting a decrease of $59.0 million from the twelve months ended December 31, 2014.
• Adjusted base EBITDA was $16.6 million ($0.07 per share), reflecting a decrease of $16.9 million (51%) from the twelve months ended December 31, 2014. The decline was largely due to lower management fees, lower interest income, an increase in the specific loan loss provisions and higher SG&A.
• Invested capital stood at $308.6 million, reflecting a $34.7 million (10%) decrease from December 31, 2014.

Significant events for the year-ended December 31, 2015:

• Completed repositioning of Sprott Asset Management brand and strengthened investment team with the addition of several portfolio managers, including Dennis Mitchell
• Named Whitney George Chairman of Sprott USA
• Generated $112 million in net sales
• Expanded exchange-listed products franchise with launch of second ETF on NYSE Arca
• Successfully completed exchange offer for Central GoldTrust, increasing the AUM of Sprott Physical Gold Trust by approximately $1.1 billion
• Hired senior US and international sales personnel

"In 2015 we completed the repositioning of our business and made key additions to our investment management and institutional sales teams," said Peter Grosskopf, CEO of Sprott. "The early results of these moves have been encouraging, as we delivered improved investment performance and generated positive net sales for the year."

"In January, we increased the AUM of our exchange-listed products by more than $1.1 billion through the successful exchange offer for Central GoldTrust. These products now have combined AUM of more than $4 billion and an extensive US client base," continued Mr. Grosskopf.  "On the resource side of the business we continued to be impacted by the global resource bear market but we were still able to generate positive full-year EBITDA in most of our resource strategies. We are pleased with our performance in the early months of 2016 and expect to deliver improved financial results this year."

Assets Under Management

Dividends

On March 10, 2016, a dividend of $0.03 per common share was declared for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call and webcast will be held today, March 11, 2016 at 10:00am ET to discuss the Company's financial results. To participate in the call, please dial (877) 930-8292 ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call and provide conference ID 65449483​. A taped replay of the conference call will be available until Friday, March 18, 2016 by calling (855) 859-2056, reference number 65449483​.

The conference call will be webcast live at www.sprottinc.com and http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/qs3pffpj

*Non-IFRS Financial Measures

This press release includes financial terms (including AUM, AUA, EBITDA, adjusted base EBITDA and net sales) 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. For additional information regarding the Company's use of non-IFRS measures, including the calculation of these measures, please refer to the “Non-IFRS Financial Measures” section of the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis and its financial statements available on the Company's website at www.sprottinc.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as the “Forward-Looking Statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words “expect”, “anticipate”, “continue”, “estimate”, “may”, “will”, “project”, “should”, “believe”, “plans”, “intends” and similar expressions are intended to identify Forward-Looking Statements. In particular, but without limiting the forgoing, this press release contains Forward-Looking Statements pertaining to: (i) expectations to deliver improved financial results this year; (ii) ability to prudently manager our expense; and (iii) proposed changes to our dividend policy and a proposed normal course issuer bid.

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) future exchange rates will remain consistent with the current environment; (ii) the impact of increasing competition in each business in which the Company operates will not be material; (iii) quality management will be available; and (iv) the effects of regulation and tax laws of governmental agencies will be consistent with the current environment. Actual results, performance or achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Statements should assumptions underlying the Forward-Looking Statements prove incorrect or should one or more risks or other factors materialize, including: (i) difficult market conditions; (ii) changes in the investment management industry; (iii) risks related to regulatory compliance; (iv) failure to deal appropriately with conflicts of interest; (v) failure to continue to retain and attract quality staff; (vi) competitive pressures; (vii) corporate growth may be difficult to sustain and may place significant demands on existing administrative, operational and financial resources; (viii) foreign exchange risk relating to the relative value of the U.S. dollar; (ix) historical financial information is not necessarily indicative of future performance; (x) those risks described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company’s annual information form dated March 10, 2016; and (xi) those risks described under the headings “Managing Risk - Financial” and “Managing Risk - Other” in the Company’s MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2015. In addition, the payment of dividends is not guaranteed and the amount and timing of any dividends payable by the Company will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors of the Company and will be established on the basis of the Company’s earnings, the satisfaction of solvency tests imposed by applicable corporate law for the declaration and payment of dividends, and other relevant factors. The Forward-Looking Statements speak only as of the date hereof, unless otherwise specifically noted, and the Company does not assume any obligation to publicly update any Forward-Looking Statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be expressly required by applicable Canadian securities laws.

About Sprott Inc.

Sprott Inc. is a leading independent asset manager dedicated to achieving superior returns for its clients over the long term. The Company currently operates primarily through six business units: Sprott Asset Management LP, Sprott Private Wealth LP, Sprott Consulting LP, Sprott Resource Lending Corp., Sprott Toscana and Sprott U.S. Holdings Inc.Sprott Asset Management is the investment manager of the Sprott family of mutual funds and hedge funds and discretionary managed accounts; Sprott Private Wealth provides wealth management services to high net worth individuals; and Sprott Consulting and Sprott Toscana provide management, administrative and consulting services to other companies. Sprott Resource Lending provides lending services to mining and energy sectors. Sprott U.S. Holdings Inc. includes Sprott Global Resource Investments Ltd, Sprott Asset Management USA Inc., and Resource Capital Investments Corporation. Sprott Inc. is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “SII”. For more information on Sprott Inc., please visit www.sprottinc.com.

Investor contact information:
Glen Williams
Director of Communications
(416) 943-4394
gwilliams@sprott.com