OREANDA-NEWS. Sprott Inc. (TSX:SII) (“Sprott” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2016.

2016 Financial Overview

  • Assets Under Management (“AUM”) was $8.8 billion as at March 31, 2016, compared to $7.8 billion as at March 31, 2015 and $7.4 billion as at December 31, 2015.
  • Total revenues were $31.7 million, reflecting a decrease of $1.7 million (5%) from the three months ended March 31, 2015.
  • Total expenses were $29.8 million, reflecting an increase of $5.1 million (21%) from the three months ended March 31, 2015.The majority of this increase ($3.0 million) related to a one-time non-cash charge on the write down of a management contract.
  • Net income was $1.3 million ($0.01 per share), reflecting a decrease of $5.6 million (81%) from the three months ended March 31, 2015.
  • Adjusted base EBITDA was $5.2 million ($0.02 per share), reflecting a decrease of $2.0 million (28%) from the three months ended March 31, 2015. The decline was largely due to lower commissions and interest income and higher salaries and SG&A expenses, partially offset by higher management fees and lower discretionary bonus accruals.
  • Investable capital stood at $294.6 million, reflecting a $10.0 million (3%) decrease from December 31, 2015.

Significant events for the three-months ended March 31, 2016 and Year-to-Date:

  • Closed exchange offer for Central GoldTrust in January, increasing the AUM of Sprott Physical Gold Trust by approximately $1.1 billion
  • Completed secondary offering of Sprott Physical Silver Trust Units in April, raising approximately $110 million in assets
  • Launched Sprott Social Media Insights ETF ("BUZZ") on NYSE in May

"During what was a difficult quarter for many asset managers, our AUM increased by $1.4 billion through the completion of the Central GoldTrust exchange offer and strong investment performance across most of our mutual fund and alternative investment products," said Peter Grosskopf, CEO of Sprott.  "We have continued to attract new assets in the second quarter as investors have begun to return to the precious metals sector and, in April, we completed a $110 million secondary offering of Sprott Physical Trust units."

"We are pleased with the early results of the investments we have made in our business and we will continue investing in sales, marketing and product development as we focus on long-term growth and profitability," added Mr. Grosskopf.

Assets Under Management

$ (in millions) AUM 
Dec. 31, 2015		 Net Sales /
(Redemptions)		 Net Market
Value Change		 Acquisitions /
(Divestitures)		 AUM
Mar. 31, 2016
           
Exchange Listed Products (1) 2,959   (163 ) 302   1,072   4,170  
           
Diversified Alternative Asset Management:          
Mutual Funds (1) 2,400   24   25   —   2,449  
Alternative Investment Funds 892   10   56   —   958  
Managed Accounts 35   25   9   —   69  
           
Private Resources          
Fixed Term Limited Partnerships 335   —   (2 ) —   333  
Managed Companies 701   —   6   —   707  
Managed Accounts 104   —   9   —   113  
Total Enterprise AUM 7,426   (104 ) 405   1,072   8,799  
                     

Dividends

On May 12, 2016, a dividend of $0.03 per common share was declared for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.

Conference Call and Webcast

A conference call and webcast will be held today, May 13, 2016 at 8:00am 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, May 20, 2016 by calling (855) 859-2056, reference number 6656198.?

The conference call will be webcast live at www.sprottinc.com and http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/p7qoj4br