Power Corporation Reports First Quarter Financial Results and Dividend Increase of 7%

All figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted. Readers are referred to the sections "Non-IFRS Financial Measures and Presentation" and "Forward-Looking Statements" at the end of this release.  

TORONTO, May 12, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Power Corporation of Canada (TSX: POW) today reported earnings results for the three months ended March 31, 2017.

FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Net earnings attributable to participating shareholders for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 were $258 million or $0.56 per share, compared with $48 million or $0.10 per share in 2016.

Adjusted net earnings attributable to participating shareholders (a non-IFRS financial measure) were $269 million or $0.58 per share, compared with $191 million or $0.41 per share in 2016.

Other items, not included in adjusted net earnings, were a net charge of $11 million, representing the Corporation's share of restructuring charges recorded by Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Lifeco) related to its health and retail business in Ireland and the completion of integration activities of Empower Retirement.

RESULTS OF POWER FINANCIAL CORPORATION
FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31

Power Financial reported net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $484 million or $0.68 per share, compared with $259 million or $0.36 per share in 2016.

Adjusted net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $501 million or $0.70 per share, compared with $476 million or $0.67 per share in 2016. 

Other items, not included in adjusted net earnings, were a net charge of $17 million representing Power Financial's share of the item discussed above.

At March 31, 2017, Power Corporation held a 65.6% economic interest in Power Financial. Power Financial's contribution to Power Corporation's adjusted net earnings was $329 million for the quarter, compared with $313 million in 2016.

SAGARD INVESTMENT FUNDS AND OTHER
FOR THE QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31

Income from the Sagard Investment Funds and Other was $21 million for the quarter, comprised of gains of $18 million from the Sagard Investment Funds and gains of $3 million from the Corporation's other investments. These activities resulted in a loss of $46 million in the first quarter of 2016. The total fair value of investments increased from $2,690 million at December 31, 2016 to $2,745 million at March 31, 2017.

DIVIDENDS ON PARTICIPATING SHARES

The Board of Directors today declared an increase in the quarterly dividend from 33.50 cents to 35.85 cents per share on the Participating Preferred Shares and the Subordinate Voting Shares of the Corporation, payable June 30, 2017 to shareholders of record June 9, 2017.

DIVIDENDS ON NON-PARTICIPATING PREFERRED SHARES

The Board of Directors also declared quarterly dividends on the Corporation's preferred shares, as follows:

SERIES – STOCK SYMBOL	RECORD DATE	PAYMENT DATE	AMOUNT
1986 Series – POW.PR.F	June 23, 2017	July 15, 2017	At a floating rate equal to one quarter of 70% of the average prime rate of two major Canadian chartered banks ^[1]
Series A – POW.PR.A	June 23, 2017	July 15, 2017	35¢
Series B – POW.PR.B	June 23, 2017	July 15, 2017	33.4375¢
Series C – POW.PR.C	June 23, 2017	July 15, 2017	36.25¢
Series D – POW.PR.D	June 23, 2017	July 15, 2017	31.25¢
Series G – POW.PR.G	June 23, 2017	July 15, 2017	35¢

[1] In accordance with the articles of the Corporation

ABOUT POWER CORPORATION

Power Corporation of Canada is a diversified international management and holding company with interests in companies in the financial services, renewable energy, communications and other business sectors in North America, Europe and Asia. To learn more, visit www.powercorporation.com.

EARNINGS SUMMARY
(unaudited)		Three months ended
(in millions of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts)		March 31,
		2017	2016
Adjusted net earnings
Power Financial		329	313
Other subsidiaries ^[1]		(29)	(27)
		300	286
Corporate operations
	Income – Sagard Investment Funds and Other ^[2]	21	(46)
	Operating and other expenses	(39)	(36)
Dividends on non-participating shares		(13)	(13)
Adjusted net earnings ^[3]		269	191
Other items – see below		(11)	(143)
Net earnings ^[3]		258	48
Earnings per share – Basic ^[3]
	Adjusted net earnings	0.58	0.41
	Other items	(0.02)	(0.31)
	Net earnings	0.56	0.10
[1]	Comprised of: Power Energy Corporation, Square Victoria Communications Group Inc., and controlled portfolio investments IntegraMed America, Inc. and Vein Clinics of America, Inc. (held through Sagard Capital).
[2]	Includes income from Sagard Investment Funds (excluding income from controlled portfolio investments) and income from Other investments.
[3]	Attributable to participating shareholders.

OTHER ITEMS
(unaudited)			Three months ended
(in millions of Canadian dollars)			March 31,
			2017	2016
Share of Power Financial's other items:
	Lifeco
		Restructuring charges	(13)	–
			(13)	–
	Pargesa Holding SA
		Total SA – Gains on partial disposal	–	67
		LafargeHolcim Ltd – Impairment charges	–	(203)
		Engie – Impairment charges	–	(6)
		Other income (charge)	2	(1)
			2	(143)
			(11)	(143)

INCOME – SAGARD INVESTMENT FUNDS AND OTHER
(unaudited)		Three months ended
(in millions of Canadian dollars)		March 31,
		2017	2016
Sagard Investment Funds^[1]
	Sagard Europe	(3)	(3)
	Sagard Capital^[2, 3]	9	(34)
	Sagard China	12	(4)
Other Investments
	Investment and hedge funds	2	5
	Other^[4]	1	(10)
		21	(46)
[1]	Income from investments for the Sagard Investment Funds is presented net of expenses.
[2]	Excludes the Corporation's share of the results of IntegraMed America, Inc. and Vein Clinics of America, Inc., presented in Other subsidiaries.
[3]	Includes share of earnings (losses) from investments in a jointly controlled corporation and an associate.
[4]	Includes foreign exchange gains or losses and interest on cash and cash equivalents.

INVESTMENTS
March 31, 2017 (unaudited) (in millions of Canadian dollars)		Cost	Unrealized gains	Fair value of non-controlled portfolio investments ^[1]	Cash	Fair value of controlled portfolio investments and other	Total fair value
Sagard Investment Funds
	Sagard Europe	242	81	323	−	−	323
	Sagard Capital	358	29	387	114	364	865
	Sagard China	343	26	369	304	−	673
		943	136	1,079	418	364	1,861
Other Investments
	China Asset Management Co., Ltd.	282	181	463	−	−	463
	Investment and hedge funds and other	266	155	421	−	−	421
Total		1,491	472	1,963	418	364	2,745
December 31, 2016 (unaudited) (in millions of Canadian dollars)		Cost	Unrealized gains	Fair value of non-controlled portfolio investments ^[1]	Cash	Fair value of controlled portfolio investments and other	Total fair value
Sagard Investment Funds
	Sagard Europe	211	70	281	−	−	281
	Sagard Capital	388	41	429	125	334	888
	Sagard China	306	10	316	331	−	647
		905	121	1,026	456	334	1,816
Other Investments
	China Asset Management Co., Ltd.	282	181	463	−	−	463
	Investment and hedge funds and other	270	141	411	−	−	411
Total		1,457	443	1,900	456	334	2,690
[1]	As reported in the Corporation's non-consolidated balance sheets.

Eligible Dividends

For purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and any similar provincial legislation, all of the above dividends on the Corporation's preferred shares (including the Participating Preferred Shares) and Subordinate Voting Shares are eligible dividends.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures and Presentation

Net earnings attributable to participating shareholders are comprised of:

• adjusted net earnings attributable to participating shareholders; and
• other items, which include the after-tax impact of any item that in management's judgment would make the period-over-period comparison of results from operations less meaningful. Other items include the Corporation's share of items presented as other items by a subsidiary or a jointly controlled corporation.

Management uses these financial measures in its presentation and analysis of the financial performance of Power Corporation, and believes that they provide additional meaningful information to readers in their analysis of the results of the Corporation. Adjusted net earnings, as defined by the Corporation, assist the reader in comparing the current period's results to those of previous periods as items that are not considered to be part of ongoing activities are excluded from this non-IFRS measure.

Adjusted net earnings attributable to participating shareholders and adjusted net earnings per share are non-IFRS financial measures that do not have a standard meaning and may not be comparable to similar measures used by other entities.

The Corporation also uses a non-consolidated basis of presentation to present and analyze its results whereby the Corporation's interests in Power Financial and other subsidiaries are accounted for using the equity method. Presentation on a non-consolidated basis is a non-IFRS presentation. However, it is useful to the reader as it presents the holding company's (parent) results separately from the results of its operating subsidiaries.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements based on certain assumptions and reflect the Corporation's current expectations, or with respect to disclosure regarding the Corporation's public subsidiaries, reflect such subsidiaries' disclosed current expectations. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purposes of assisting the reader in understanding the Corporation's financial performance, financial position and cash flows as at and for the periods ended on certain dates and to present information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future and the reader is cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook of the Corporation and its subsidiaries, as well as the outlook for North American and international economies for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "estimates", "seeks", "intends", "targets", "projects", "forecasts" or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could".

By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond the Corporation's and its subsidiaries' control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Corporation and its subsidiaries and their businesses, and could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations of estimated or anticipated events or results. These factors include, but are not limited to: the impact or unanticipated impact of general economic, political and market factors in North America and internationally, interest and foreign exchange rates, global equity and capital markets, management of market liquidity and funding risks, changes in accounting policies and methods used to report financial condition (including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates), the effect of applying future accounting changes, business competition, operational and reputational risks, technological change, changes in government regulation and legislation, changes in tax laws, unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings, catastrophic events, the Corporation's and its subsidiaries' ability to complete strategic transactions, integrate acquisitions and implement other growth strategies, and the Corporation's and its subsidiaries' success in anticipating and managing the foregoing factors.

The reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Information contained in forward-looking statements is based upon certain material assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including management's perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances, including that the list of factors in the previous paragraph, collectively, are not expected to have a material impact on the Corporation and its subsidiaries. While the Corporation considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to management, they may prove to be incorrect.

Other than as specifically required by applicable Canadian law, the Corporation undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.

Additional information about the risks and uncertainties of the Corporation's business and material factors or assumptions on which information contained in forward-looking statements is based is provided in its disclosure materials, including its most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Power Corporation of Canada

Mr. Stéphane Lemay, Vice-President, General Counsel and Secretary, 514-286-7400

Related Links

www.powercorporation.com