Sprott Inc. (NYSE/TSX: SII) (“Sprott” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Management commentary “Sprott delivered solid results during the third quarter as we remained focused on executing our strategy against a backdrop of ongoing market turbulence. Assets Under Management ("AUM") were $21 billion as at September 30, 2022, down $0.9 billion (4%) from June 30, 2022 and up $0.6 billion (3%) from December 31, 2021. On both a three and nine months ended basis, the declines were due to market value depreciation across our fund products. However, year-to-date, the negative market impacts have been more than offset by strong inflows to our physical trusts, private strategies and the acquisition of the North Shore Global Uranium Mining ETF," said Whitney George, CEO of Sprott.

"Energy transition is an increasingly important investment theme for Sprott. Over the past year, we have built a strong following in the space due to the success of our uranium vehicles and, during the third quarter, we launched an actively-managed strategy focused on energy transition materials. We expect this area to be a growth driver for our business going forward," added Mr. George.

Financial highlights1

Key AUM highlights

  • AUM was $21 billion as at September 30, 2022, down $0.9 billion (4%) from June 30, 2022 and up $0.6 billion (3%) from December 31, 2021. Our AUM was negatively impacted on both a three and nine months ended basis by market value depreciation across our fund products. However, on a nine months ended basis, our cumulative market value declines were more than offset by strong inflows to our physical trusts, private strategies and the onboarding of AUM on the closure of North Shore Global Uranium Mining ETF acquisition (“URNM acquisition”), adding $1 billion to our AUM in the second quarter.

Key revenue highlights

  • Management fees were $29.2 million in the quarter, up $0.5 million (2%) from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $87 million on a year-to-date basis, up $10.8 million (14%) from the nine months ended September 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 nine months ended September 30, 2021. Net fees were $26.8 million in the quarter, up $0.7 million (3%) from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $80.3 million on a year-to-date basis, up $7.3 million (10%) from the nine months ended September 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. These increases were partially offset by lower average AUM in our managed equities segment and lower carried interest crystallization in our private strategies segment on a year-to-date basis.
  • Commission revenues were $6.1 million in the quarter, down $5.2 million (46%) from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $25.6 million on a year-to-date basis, down $5.5 million (18%) from the nine months ended September 30, 2021. Net commissions were $3.2 million in the quarter, down $2.6 million (44%) from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $13.3 million on a year-to-date basis, down $3.7 million (22%) from the nine months ended September 30, 2021. Lower commissions were due to weaker mining equity origination activity in our brokerage segment and lower commissions earned in the quarter on the purchase of uranium in our exchange listed products segment.
  • Finance income was $0.9 million in the quarter, up $0.4 million (65%) from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $3.6 million on a year to date basis, up $0.8 million (29%) from the nine months ended September 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 $14.1 million in the quarter, up $1.3 million (10%) from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $43.8 million on a year-to-date basis, up $8.3 million (23%) from the nine months ended September 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 $0.6 million (15%) from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $11.9 million on a year-to-date basis, up $1.4 million (13%) from the nine months ended September 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 $3.1 million ($0.12 per share) in the quarter, down 65%, or $5.6 million ($0.23 per share) from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $10.3 million on a year-to-date basis ($0.41 per share), down 55%, or $12.7 million ($0.51 per share) from the nine months ended September 30, 2021. Our results were negatively impacted by FX translation losses and the settlement of a legacy legal claim. Our earnings were also impacted by net market value depreciation of our co-investments and digital gold strategies on a year-to-date basis.
  • Adjusted base EBITDA was $16.8 million ($0.67 per share) in the quarter, up 1%, or $0.1 million from the quarter ended September 30, 2021 and $52.9 million ($2.11 per share) on a year-to-date basis up 14%, or $6.6 million ($0.25 per share) from the nine months ended September 30, 2021. Our results benefited from strong net inflows into our physical trusts (primarily our physical uranium and gold trusts) and the URNM acquisition. These increases were only partially offset by weaker mining equity origination activity in our brokerage segment and lower AUM in our managed equities segment.

Subsequent events

  • On November 3, 2022, the Sprott Board of Directors announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

Supplemental financial information

Please refer to the September 30, 2022 interim financial statements of the Company and the related management discussion and analysis filed earlier this morning for further details into the Company's financial position as at September 30, 2022 and the Company's financial performance for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Schedule 1 - AUM continuity

3 months results              
               
(In millions $) AUMJune 30, 2022 Net inflows (1) Market value changes Other (2) AUM Sep. 30, 2022   Blended netmanagement fee rate (3)
               
Exchange listed products              
- Physical trusts              
- Physical Gold Trust 5,691 12 (468) 5,235   0.35%
- Physical Gold and Silver Trust 3,826 (12) (291) 3,523   0.40%
- Physical Silver Trust 3,267 75 (207) 3,135   0.45%
- Physical Uranium Trust 2,929 45 (131) 2,843   0.30%
- Physical Platinum & Palladium Trust 147 (7) 7 147   0.50%
- Exchange Traded Funds              
- Uranium ETFs 758 24 102 884   0.68%
- Gold ETFs 305 24 (43) 286   0.35%
  16,923 161 (1,031) 16,053   0.39%
               
Managed equities              
- Precious metals strategies 1,714 (48) (162) 1,504   0.89%
- Other (4)(5) 965 6 (68) 903   1.20%
  2,679 (42) (230) 2,407   1.00%
               
Private strategies 1,611 382 (6) (91) 1,896   0.75%
               
Non-core AUM (6) 732 (44) 688   0.51%
               
Total (7) 21,945 501 (1,311) (91) 21,044   0.50%
               
9 months results              
               
(In millions $) AUMDec. 31, 2021 Net inflows (1) Market value changes Other (2) AUM Sep. 30, 2022   Blended netmanagement fee rate (3)
Exchange listed products              
- Physical trusts              
- Physical Gold Trust 5,008 821 (594) 5,235   0.35%
- Physical Gold and Silver Trust 4,094 (60) (511) 3,523   0.40%
- Physical Silver Trust 3,600 257 (722) 3,135   0.45%
- Physical Uranium Trust 1,769 894 180 2,843   0.30%
- Physical Platinum & Palladium Trust 132 17 (2) 147   0.50%
- Exchange Traded Funds              
- Uranium ETFs 36 (194) 1,042 884   0.68%
- Gold ETFs 356 39 (109) 286   0.35%
  14,959 2,004 (1,952) 1,042 16,053   0.39%
               
Managed equities              
- Precious metals strategies 2,141 (55) (582) 1,504   0.89%
- Other (4)(5) 1,141 49 (287) 903   1.20%
  3,282 (6) (869) 2,407   1.00%
               
Private strategies 1,426 692 (13) (209) 1,896   0.75%
               
Non-core AUM (6) 776 (88) 688   0.51%
               
Total (7) 20,443 2,690 (2,922) 833 21,044   0.50%
(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 U.S.
(5)  Prior year figures have been restated to conform 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 Korea, which accounts for less than 1% of consolidated net income and EBITDA.
(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 $) Q32022 Q22022 Q12022 Q42021 Q32021 Q22021 Q12021 Q42020
Summary income statements                
Management fees 29,158   30,620   27,172   27,783   28,612   25,062   22,452   22,032  
Trailer, sub-advisor and fund expenses (1,278 ) (1,258 ) (853 ) (872 ) (637 ) (552 ) (599 ) (583 )
Direct payouts (1,121 ) (1,272 ) (1,384 ) (1,367 ) (1,892 ) (1,198 ) (890 ) (695 )
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 26,759   28,090   25,476   26,536   26,083   23,186   23,725   25,300  
                 
Commissions 6,101   6,458   13,077   14,153   11,273   7,377   12,463   6,761  
Commission expense - internal (2,385 ) (2,034 ) (3,134 ) (4,128 ) (3,089 ) (3,036 ) (5,289 ) (2,093 )
Commission expense - external (1) (476 ) (978 ) (3,310 ) (3,016 ) (2,382 ) (49 ) (253 ) (98 )
Net commissions 3,240   3,446   6,633   7,009   5,802   4,292   6,921   4,570  
                 
Finance income 933   1,186   1,433   788   567   932   1,248   1,629  
Gain (loss) on investments 45   (7,884 ) (1,473 ) (43 ) 310   2,502   (4,652 ) (3,089 )
Other income (227 ) 170   208   313   529   438   303   949  
Total net revenues 30,750   25,008   32,277   34,603   33,291   31,350   27,545   29,359  
                 
Compensation 18,934   19,364   21,789   20,632   18,001   15,452   22,636   20,193  
Direct payouts (1,121 ) (1,272 ) (1,384 ) (1,367 ) (1,892 ) (1,198 ) (890 ) (695 )
Carried interest and performance fee payouts - internal     (1,029 ) (2,516 )   (126 ) (4,580 ) (5,529 )
Commission expense - internal (2,385 ) (2,034 ) (3,134 ) (4,128 ) (3,089 ) (3,036 ) (5,289 ) (2,093 )
Severance, new hire accruals and other (2) (1,349 ) (2,113 ) (514 ) (187 ) (207 ) (293 ) (44 ) (65 )
Net compensation 14,079   13,945   15,728   12,434   12,813   10,799   11,833   11,811  
                 
Severance, new hire accruals and other 1,349   2,113   514   187   207   293   44   65  
Selling, general and administrative 4,239   4,221   3,438   4,172   3,682   3,492   3,351   2,320  
Interest expense 884   483   480   239   312   260   350   331  
Depreciation and amortization 710   959   976   1,136   1,134   1,165   1,117   1,023  
Other expenses 5,697   868   1,976   2,910   3,875   876   4,918   4,528  
Total expenses 26,958   22,589   23,112   21,078   22,023   16,885   21,613   20,078  
                 
Net income 3,071   757   6,473   10,171   8,718   11,075   3,221   6,720  
Net Income per share 0.12   0.03   0.26   0.41   0.35   0.44   0.13   0.27  
Adjusted base EBITDA 16,837   17,909   18,173   17,705   16,713   15,050   14,605   14,751  
Adjusted base EBITDA per share 0.67   0.71   0.73   0.71   0.67   0.60   0.59   0.60  
Operating margin 55 % 55 % 57 % 55 % 52 % 52 % 51 % 51 %
                 
Summary balance sheet                
Total assets 375,386   376,128   380,843   365,873   375,819   361,121   356,986   377,348  
Total liabilities 103,972   89,264   83,584   74,654   84,231   64,081   67,015   86,365  
                 
Total AUM 21,044,252   21,944,675   23,679,354   20,443,088   19,016,313   18,550,106   17,073,078   17,390,389  
Average AUM 21,420,015   23,388,568   21,646,082   20,229,119   19,090,702   18,343,846   17,188,205   16,719,815  

(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 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 9 months ended
         
(in thousands $) Sep. 30, 2022 Sep. 30, 2021 Sep. 30, 2022 Sep. 30, 2021
         
Net income for the periods 3,071   8,718   10,301   23,014  
Adjustments:        
Interest expense 884   312   1,847   922  
Provision for income taxes 721   2,550   5,075   8,651  
Depreciation and amortization 710   1,134   2,645   3,416  
EBITDA 5,386   12,714   19,868   36,003  
         
Other adjustments:        
(Gain) loss on investments (1) (45 ) (310 ) 9,312   1,840  
Amortization of stock based compensation 3,633   452   10,911   1,248  
Other expenses (2) 7,863   3,857   13,369   9,913  
Adjusted EBITDA 16,837   16,713   53,460   49,004  
         
Other adjustments:        
Carried interest and performance fees     (2,046 ) (7,937 )
Carried interest and performance fee payouts - internal     1,029   4,706  
Carried interest and performance fee payouts - external     476   595  
Adjusted base EBITDA 16,837   16,713   52,919   46,368  
Operating margin (3) 55 % 52 % 55 % 52 %

(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 above are met.

(2) In addition to the items outlined in Note 5 of the interim financial statements, this reconciliation line also includes $1.3 million severance, new hire accruals and other for the three months ended September 30, 2022 (three months ended September 30, 2021 - $0.2 million) and $4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 (nine months ended September 30, 2021 - $0.5 million). This reconciliation line excludes income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest of $(0.8) million for the three months ended September 30, 2022 (three months ended September 30, 2021 - $0.2 million) and $(0.9) million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 (nine months ended September 30, 2021 - $0.3 million).

(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, November 4, 2022 at 10:00 am ET to discuss the Company's financial results. To listen to the webcast, please register at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/6iyict5f 

Please note, analysts who cover the company should register at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI38780e28eb664c3e9d7419920d8f929a 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 StatementsCertain statements in this press release contain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively referred to herein as the "Forward-Looking Statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. 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) our belief that we will continue to grow in the energy transition space; and (ii) the declaration, payment and designation of dividends and confidence that our business will support the dividend level without impacting our ability to fund future growth initiatives.

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 September 30, 2022. 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) poor investment performance; (iii) failure to continue to retain and attract quality staff; (iv) employee errors or misconduct resulting in regulatory sanctions or reputational harm; (v) performance fee fluctuations; (vi) a business segment or another counterparty failing to pay its financial obligation; (vii) failure of the Company to meet its demand for cash or fund obligations as they come due; (viii) changes in the investment management industry; (ix) failure to implement effective information security policies, procedures and capabilities; (x) lack of investment opportunities; (xi) risks related to regulatory compliance; (xii) failure to manage risks appropriately; (xiii) failure to deal appropriately with conflicts of interest; (xiv) competitive pressures; (xv) corporate growth which may be difficult to sustain and may place significant demands on existing administrative, operational and financial resources; (xvi) failure to comply with privacy laws; (xvii) failure to successfully implement succession planning; (xviii) foreign exchange risk relating to the relative value of the U.S. dollar; (xix) litigation risk; (xx) failure to develop effective business resiliency plans; (xxi) failure to obtain or maintain sufficient insurance coverage on favourable economic terms; (xxii) historical financial information being not necessarily indicative of future performance; (xxiii) the market price of common shares of the Company may fluctuate widely and rapidly; (xxiv) risks relating to the Company’s investment products; (xxv) risks relating to the Company's proprietary investments; (xxvi) risks relating to the Company's lending business; (xxvii) risks relating to the Company’s brokerage business; (xxviii) those risks described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company’s annual information form dated February 24, 2022; and (xxix) those risks described under the headings "Managing Financial Risks" and "Managing Non-Financial Risks" in the Company’s MD&A for the period ended September 30, 2022. 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 securities laws.

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, Managed Equities, Private Strategies and Brokerage. Sprott has offices in Toronto, New York and London and the company’s common shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol (SII). For more information, please visit www.sprott.com. 

Investor contact information:

Glen WilliamsManaging DirectorInvestor and Institutional Client Relations;Head of Corporate Communications(416) 943-4394gwilliams@sprott.com 

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