ECN.PR.C Ecn Capital Corp

ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) (“ECN Capital” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020.

For the three-month period ended March 31, 2020, ECN Capital reported Adjusted net income applicable to common shareholders from continuing operations of $14.5 million or $0.06 per share (basic) versus $18.5 million or $0.08 per share (basic) for the previous three-month period ended December 31, 2019 and $12.6 million or $0.05 per share (basic) for the same period last year.

“ECN had strong Q1 earnings of $0.06, in line with our guidance of $0.06 - $0.07,” said Steven Hudson, CEO of ECN Capital Corp. “We never expected to have the sort of stress test we are all getting from Covid-19, but we are very pleased with the resiliency of each of our businesses.  While we are withdrawing our formal 2020 guidance due to the broad range of possible outcomes, I continue to expect earnings growth in 2020 and still believe the low end of our previous guidance range is possible.”

Originations for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 were $509 million versus $542 million in the previous three-month period and $419 million for the same period last year.

Total Earning Assets Managed and Advised as at March 31, 2020 were $33.6 billion, consistent with $33.6 billion as at December 31, 2019.

Adjusted EBITDA for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 was $27.7 million versus $33.1 million for the previous three-month period and $27.6 million for the same period last year. 

Operating Expenses for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 were $33.2 million versus $32.9 million reported for the previous three-month period and $29.0 million for the same period last year.

Net Income (loss) for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 was $2.7 million versus ($8.9) million for the previous three-month period and ($25.3) million for the same period last year.

Dividends Declared

The Company’s Board of Directors has authorized and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.025 per outstanding common share to be paid on June 30, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2020.  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 June 30, 2020 to shareholders of record on the close of business on June 15, 2020.   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 June 30, 2020 to shareholders of record on the close of business on June 15, 2020. 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 its analyst briefing to discuss these results commencing at 5:30 PM (ET) on Thursday May 14, 2020. The call can be accessed as follows:

Webcast	http://services.choruscall.ca/links/ecncapitalcorp20200514.html
Toll-free dial in	North America 1-800-319-8560International 1-604-638-5345Passcode 47234#
Presentation slides	http://ecncapitalcorp.com/investors/presentations

The webcast will be available until June 14, 2020. A recording of the conference call may also be accessed until August 14, 2020 by dialing 1-800-319-6413 and entering the passcode 4511#.

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company’s interim unaudited 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 three-month period ended March 31, 2020.

ECN Capital’s Management Discussion and Analysis as at and for the three-month period ended March 31, 2020 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$34 billion, ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) is a leading provider of business services to United States based banks, credit unions, life insurance companies and investment funds (collectively our “Partners”). ECN Capital originates, manages and advises on credit assets on behalf of its Partners, specifically unsecured loan portfolios, secured loan portfolios and credit card portfolios. Our Partners are seeking high quality assets to match with their deposits or liabilities. These services are offered through three operating businesses: Service Finance, Triad Financial Services and The Kessler Group.

Contact

John Wimsatt 647-649-4634jwimsatt@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, 2020 MD&A and 2019 AIF Disclosure Document dated March 26, 2020 which have 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.