TORONTO, March 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) (“ECN Capital” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the three-month period and year ended December 31, 2021.

For the three-month period ended December 31, 2021, ECN Capital reported Adjusted net income applicable to common shareholders from continuing operations of $13.8 million or $0.06 per share (basic) versus $13.7 million or $0.06 per share (basic) for the previous three-month period and $1.5 million or $0.01 per share (basic) for the same period last year. For the twelve-month period, the Company reported Adjusted net Income applicable to common shareholders of $45.7 million or $0.19 per share (basic) versus $17.2 million or $0.07 per share (basic) for the same period last year.

“ECN reported excellent results in Q4”, said Steven Hudson, CEO of ECN Capital Corp. “Both Triad and KG continued to fire on all cylinders in Q4 and along with Source One are ahead of plan thus far in 2022 putting us well on track to meet or exceed our guidance for 2022 from Investor Day. I want to congratulate all of our team members for producing fantastic results in 2021 and I am excited for another year of outperformance in 2022.”

Mr. Hudson continued, “The sale of Service Finance marks a return on investment of approximately 6.5 times our initial investment. We were thrilled to deliver a special distribution to shareholders of C$7.50 per share in Q4. Separately, we are excited to welcome Source One as an operating partner and expect great things out of the platform over the coming years.”

Originations for the three-month period ended December 31, 2021 were $300 million versus $299 million in the previous three-month period and $197 million for the same period last year.

Total Earning Assets Managed and Advisory as at December 31, 2021 were $31.3 billion, versus $30.1 billion as at September 30, 2021 and $29.7 billion at December 31, 2020.

Adjusted EBITDA for the three-month period ended December 31, 2021 was $28.8 million versus $26.8 million for the previous three-month period and $11.4 million for the same period last year.

Operating Expenses for the three-month period ended December 31, 2021 were $40.7 million versus $25.9 million for the previous three-month period and $24.3 million for the same period last year.

Net Income (loss) attributable to common shareholders for the three-month period ended December 31, 2021 was $913.3 million versus $20.8 million for the previous three-month period and ($29.5) million for the same period last year. For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2021 the Company reported net income (loss) of $955.0 million versus ($22.9) million for the same period last year.

Dividends Declared

The Company’s Board of Directors has authorized and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.01 per outstanding common share to be paid on March 31, 2022 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15, 2022. 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 has authorized and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.390625 per outstanding Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Share, Series C (TSX: ECN.PR.C) to be paid on March 31, 2022 to shareholders of record on the close of business on March 15, 2022. 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 Tuesday, March 1, 2022. The call can be accessed as follows:

A telephone replay of the conference call may also be accessed until April 1, 2022 by dialing 1-800-319-6413 and entering the passcode 8603#.

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company’s audited 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 year ended December 31, 2021.

ECN Capital’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2021 has been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and is available under the investor section of the Company’s website (www.ecncapitalcorp.com).

About ECN Capital Corp.

With managed and advised assets of US$31 billion, ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) is a leading provider of business services to North American based banks, credit unions, life insurance companies, pension funds and investment funds (collectively our “Partners”). ECN Capital originates, manages and advises on credit assets on behalf of its Partners, specifically secured loan portfolios and credit card portfolios. Our Partners are seeking high quality assets to match with their deposits or other liabilities. These services are offered through three operating businesses: Triad Financial Services, Source One Financial Services and The Kessler Group.

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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 December 31, 2021 MD&A and 2020 AIF Disclosure Document dated March 31, 2021 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.