TORONTO, Ontario, February 15, 2017 – Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp. (TSXV: GRC) (“Grenville” or the “Company”) today announced its financial and operating results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2017. Financial references are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise specified.
2017 Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights
Financial Highlights
(1) EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow are non-IFRS measures. Refer to section Definition of Non-IFRS Measures for further explanation and definitions
(2) For the three-month and year ended December 31, 2016 the company reported under results of operations dividend paid and payable during the period and dividend per share on an annualized basis. As the dividend was suspended in October 2016, this information was not included again as it would not provide a meaningful comparison.
Revenues
Revenues were $(2,871,000) and $(9,603,000) for the three-month (Q4 2017) and twelve-month (FY 2017) periods ended December 31, 2017, respectively, compared to $(5,632,000) and $(7,930,000) for the corresponding periods in 2016. With the adoption of IFRS 9, certain non-cash items are recognized in revenue.
Revenues in the quarterly period were negatively impacted by net non-cash items of $3,869,000 compared to $7,237,000 for the same period in 2016. This non-cash amount relates to $3,438,000 for an unrealized loss from the change in fair value of royalty agreements acquired and promissory notes receivable, $730,000 for an unrealized loss in the change of the fair value of the shares held in Lattice Biologics Ltd., partially offset by $94,000 of unrealized foreign exchange gain.
Revenues in the annual period were negatively impacted by net non-cash items of $14,390,000 compared to $16,410,000 in 2016. This non-cash amount relates to $3,321,625 of an unrealized loss in writing-down the fair value of royalty agreements acquired and promissory notes receivable, $7,449,269 for investments written-off, $2,732,254 for the unrealized loss in the change in the fair value of the shares held in Lattice Biologics Ltd., $1,809,436 for unrealized foreign exchange loss offset by $922,284 for an unrealized gain from an investment derecognized. There was $3,000,000 of realized gain from contract buyouts recognized for 2017 because of the buyout of the Aquam investment compared to a gain of $99,000 for 2016.
Royalty Payment Income and Interest and Fee Income Earned
Royalty payment income plus interest and fee income earned was $1,131,000 and $4,704,000 for Q4 2017 and FY 2017, respectively, compared to $1,586,000 and $8,284,000 for the corresponding periods in 2016.
The change in the quarterly period was due to no royalty payment income recognized in Q4 2017 from four investees that have failed to pay royalties for at least three months compared to $190,000 of income recognized from this group in the same period last year and $330,000 of income recognized on the Aquam investment during the three-month period ended December 31, 2016 that was bought-out in April 2017.
The change in the annual period was primarily due to $3,300,000 for investments where more income was recognized in 2016 than in 2017 due to investees that have failed to pay royalties for at least three months.
Management believes that the core companies from its portfolio will continue to contribute Free Cash Flow(1) on a regular basis as the portfolio matures.
Operating Expense
Total operating expenses were $1,196,000 and $3,963,000 for Q4 2017 and FY 2017, respectively, compared to $1,020,000 and $4,610,000 for the corresponding periods in 2016. The change in the quarterly period is due to an increase of $198,000 in withholding tax expense offset by $30,000 lower staffing costs which reflects management’s initiatives to reduce costs. The improvement in the annual period is due to a $675,000 contract payment made to the former CEO in 2016, $245,000 in lower professional fees in 2017, $197,000 in lower salaries in 2017 and $148,000 in lower office and general expense in 2017. These improvements in the annual period were partially offset by $400,000 in harmonized sales tax expense recognized during the three-month period ended March 31, 2017 for overclaimed HST and an increase of $198,000 in withholding tax expense.
Adjusted EBITDA(1)
Adjusted EBITDA(1) was $65,000 and $4,150,000 for Q4 2017 and FY 2017, respectively, compared to $699,000 and $4,202,000 for the corresponding periods in 2016. The change in the quarterly period was primarily due to the decrease in royalty payment income and the higher withholding tax, each of which are described above.
Free Cash Flow(1)
Free Cash Flow(1) was $701,000 and $4,438,000 for Q4 2017 and FY 2017, respectively, compared to $(170,000) and $(268,000) for the corresponding periods in 2016. The improvement in the quarterly period was due to the $427,000 of income tax recoverable and $252,000 of prepaid royalty payments and interest income in Q4 2017. The change in the annual period was primarily due to the contract buyout of the Aquam investment that generated $3,533,000 in free cash flow(1) and the $427,000 of income tax recoverable.
Loss After Taxes
Loss after taxes was $3,340,000 and $11,351,000 for Q4 2017 and FY 2017, respectively, compared to $5,141,000 and $10,655,000 for the corresponding periods in 2016.
Assets
Grenville’s financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis for the three-month period and year ended December 31, 2017, will be filed today on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and will also be available on Grenville’s website at www.flowcap.com
(1) Please refer to the Company’s management’s discussion and analysis for definitions and reconciliations of these non-IFRS measures to measures prescribed by IFRS.
Conference Call Details
Grenville will host a conference call to discuss these results at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, Friday, February 16, 2018. Participants should call (647) 427-2311 or(866) 521-4909 and ask an operator for the Grenville earnings call. Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the call to secure a line. A replay will be available shortly after the cal. To access the replay, please dial (416) 621-4642 or (800) 585-8367 and enter access code 5494847. The replay recording will be available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, February 23, 2018.
An audio recording of the conference call will be also available on the investors’ page of Grenville’s website at flowcap.com.
About Grenville
Based in Toronto, Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp. is a publicly-traded royalty company that makes investments in established businesses with revenues of up to $50 million dollars. Grenville generates revenues from royalty payments, buyouts from contracts and equity returns. The flexible royalty financing structure offered by Grenville competes directly with traditional equity to meet the long-term financing needs of companies on more attractive commercial terms.
For further information, please contact:
Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp.:
Steven Parry
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: (416) 777-0383
This press release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and may also contain statements that may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company’s beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will be taken”, “will continue”, “will occur” or “will be achieved”. The forward-looking information contained herein may include, but is not limited to, information with respect to: prospective financial performance; including the Company’s opinion regarding the current and future performance of its portfolio, expenses and operations; anticipated cash needs and need for additional financing; anticipated funding sources; future growth plans; royalty acquisition targets and proposed or completed royalty transactions; estimated operating costs; estimated market drivers and demand; business prospects and strategy; anticipated trends and challenges in the Company’s business and the markets in which it operates; the amount and timing of the payment of dividends by the Company; and the Company’s financial position. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements.
An investment in securities of the Company is speculative and subject to a number of risks including, without limitation, risks relating to: the need for additional financing; the relative speculative and illiquid nature of an investment in the Company; the volatility of the Company’s share price; the Company’s limited operating history; the Company’s ability to generate sufficient revenues; the Company’s ability to manage future growth; the limited diversification in the Company’s existing investments; the Company’s ability to negotiate additional royalty purchases from new investee companies; the Company’s dependence on the operations, assets and financial health of its investee companies; the Company’s limited ability to exercise control or direction over investee companies; potential defaults by investee companies and the unsecured nature of the Company’s investments; the Company’s ability to enforce on any default by an investee company; competition with other investment entities; tax matters, including the potential impact of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act on the Company; the potential impact of the Company being classified as a Passive Foreign Investment Company (“PFIC”); the Company’s ability to pay dividends in the future and the timing and amount of those dividends; reliance on key personnel, particularly the Company’s founders; dilution of shareholders’ interest through future financings; and general economic and political conditions; as well as the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” on pages 16 to 22 of the Annual Information Form of the Company dated February 11, 2015 and the risks discussed herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.
In connection with the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release, the Company has made certain assumptions. Assumptions about the performance of the Canadian and U.S. economies over the next 24 months and how that will affect the Company’s business and its ability to identify and close new opportunities with new investees are material factors that the Company considered when setting its strategic priorities and objectives, and its outlook for its business.
Key assumptions include, but are not limited to: assumptions that the Canadian and U.S. economies relevant to the Company’s investment focus will remain relatively stable over the next 12 to 24 months; that interest rates will not increase dramatically over the next 12 to 24 months; that the Company’s existing investees will continue to make royalty payments to the Company as and when required; that the businesses of the Company’s investees will not experience material negative results; that the Company will continue to grow its portfolio in a manner similar to what has already been established; that tax rates and tax laws will not change significantly in Canada and the U.S.; that more small to medium private and public companies will continue to require access to alternative sources of capital; that the Company will have the ability to raise required equity and/or debt financing on acceptable terms; and that the Company will have sufficient free cash flow to pay dividends. The Company has also assumed that access to the capital markets will remain relatively stable, that the capital markets will perform with normal levels of volatility and that the Canadian dollar will not have a high amount of volatility relative to the U.S. dollar. In determining expectations for economic growth, the Company primarily considers historical economic data provided by the Canadian and U.S. governments and their agencies. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and statements, and no assurance or guarantee can be given that such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements.
The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this PRESS RELEASE are made as of the date of this PRESS RELEASE, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. All subsequent written and oral forward- looking information and statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
