CI Financial reports first quarter results: Earnings per share increase 23%; dividend raised 5%

TSX Symbol: CIX

TORONTO, May 7, 2014 /CNW/ - CI Financial Corp. ("CI") today released unaudited financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

HIGHLIGHTS^1	Quarter ended March 31, 2014 ($millions except per share amounts)	Quarter ended December 31, 2013 ($millions except per share amounts)	% change	Quarter ended March 31, 2013 ($millions except per share amounts)	% change
Assets Under Management	96,445	91,090	6	80,471	20
Average Assets Under Management	93,488	88,558	6	78,810	19
Pre-Tax Operating Earnings Per Share^2	0.70	0.68	3	0.59	19
EBITDA Per Share^2	0.75	0.72	4	0.64	17
Net Income	121.7	116.2	5	98.5	24
Earnings Per Share	0.43	0.41	5	0.35	23
Return on Equity	25.1%	24.3%	n/a	22.5%	n/a
SG&A Expenses^3	36 bps	37 bps	(3)	39 bps	(8)
Dividends Recorded Per Share	0.285	0.280	2	0.250	14
Net Debt^4	333.4	315.3	6	503.6	(34)
Gross Sales	4,406	3,516	25	3,804	16
Net Sales	1,719	707	143	1,147	50

^1	All figures are net of non-controlling interest.
^2	Pre-Tax Operating Earnings and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) are not standardized earnings measures prescribed by IFRS; however, management believes that most of its shareholders, creditors, other stakeholders and investment analysts prefer to include the use of these performance measures in analyzing CI's results. CI defines pre-tax operating earnings as income before income taxes less redemption fee revenue, non-recurring items, performance fees and investment gains, plus amortization of deferred sales commissions (DSC) and fund contracts. CI's method of calculating these measures may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.
^3	As a percentage of assets under management.
^4	Net of cash and marketable securities not required for regulatory working capital.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2014, average assets under management reached a record $93.5 billion, an increase of 19% from the same quarter in the previous year. At March 31, 2014, CI reached the highest level of assets under management for a quarter-end at $96.4 billion, up 20% from $80.5 billion at March 31, 2013. The S&P/TSX Composite Index increased 16% and the FTSE TMX Universe Bond Index increased 1% over the same period.

In the first quarter of 2014, CI experienced the highest level of first quarter gross sales in its history and the highest level of net sales in over a decade. Gross sales of funds were $4.4 billion compared to $3.8 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, while net sales increased 50% to $1.7 billion.

For the first quarter of 2014, CI reported earnings per share of $0.43, up 23% from $0.35 per share in the first quarter of 2013 and up 5% from $0.41 per share in the last quarter of 2013. CI reported EBITDA per share for the first quarter of 2014 of $0.75, a 17% increase from the first quarter of 2013 and a 4% increase from the prior quarter. Pre-tax operating earnings per share were up 19% from the first quarter of 2013 and up 3% from the prior quarter.

CI maintained its discretionary spend below the rate of growth in assets under management. Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses as a percentage of average assets under management fell to 36 basis points in the first quarter of 2014, down from 39 basis points in the first quarter of the prior year.

CI generated $123.2 million in free cash flow during quarter ended March 31, 2014 compared to $98.6 million in the first quarter of 2013. CI's cash flow facilitated a repurchase of $9.0 million of its shares and the payment of $81.3 million in dividends. As at April 30, 2014, CI had 284,526,538 shares outstanding.

"I am proud to report CI's best quarter ever," said Stephen A. MacPhail, CI President and Chief Executive Officer. "Net income was up 24% from the prior year, gross and net sales increased significantly, our assets under management reached new highs, our money managers and staff continue to do an exceptional job for our clients and we were able to reward shareholders with our fourth dividend increase in the last 15 months. At the same time, we have been able to find efficiencies in the business while continuing to increase our focus on training, investment management and comprehensive advisor support."

The Board of Directors declared an increase of $0.005 to the monthly cash dividend to $0.10 per share payable on each of June 13, July 15 and August 15, 2014 to shareholders of record on May 31, June 30 and July 31, 2014, respectively. The monthly dividend represents a yield of 3.4% on CI's closing share price of $35.81 on May 6, 2014.

For detailed financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2014, including Management's Discussion and Analysis, please refer to CI's website at www.cifinancial.com under Reports, or contact [email protected].

Analysts' Conference Call
CI will hold a conference call with analysts today at 4 p.m. Eastern time. Speaking on the call will be Mr. MacPhail and Douglas Jamieson, Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. The conference call and a slide presentation will be accessible through a webcast at www.ci.com/q1. Alternatively, investors may listen to the discussion by dialling 1-866-696-5910 or [phone] (passcode: 7490137).  

The call will be available for playback later in the day until May 21, 2014 at [phone] or 1-800-408-3053 (passcode: 57524116). The webcast will be archived at www.ci.com/q1.

CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX) is an independent, Canadian-owned wealth management company. CI offers a broad range of investment products and services, including an industry-leading selection of investment funds, and is on the Web at www.cifinancial.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to CI and its products and services, including its business operations and strategy and financial performance and condition. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market factors, including interest rates, business competition, changes in government regulations or in tax laws, and other factors discussed in materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time.

SOURCE: CI Financial Corp.

Stephen A. MacPhail, President and Chief Executive Officer, CI Financial Corp., [phone]