2009-11-11 14:43:09 -
Most profitable in Corporation's history TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 11/11/09 -- Grey Horse Corporation (TSX: GHC) ("Grey Horse" or "the Corporation"), a Canadian financial services company serving the corporate and institutional market, reported today its financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2009.
Financial Highlights (all amounts, except per-share, are in $000s unless otherwise stated)(1)
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3 months ended Sep 30 9 months ended Sep 30
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2009 2008 2009 2008
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Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited
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Revenue $ 6,427 $ 5,687 $ 15,492 $ 14,567
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Revenue growth 13% 59% 6% 7%
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EBITDA $ 2,648 $ 2,155 $ 3,771 $ 3,943
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Net income and comprehensive
income $ 1,636 $ 1,289 $ 2,089 $ 2,215
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Net income & comprehensive
income (decline) growth 27% 162% (6%) (14%)
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Earnings per share, basic $ 0.25 $ 0.19 $ 0.32 $ 0.34
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Earnings per share, diluted $ 0.25 $ 0.19 $ 0.32 $ 0.33
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Diluted earnings per share
(decline) growth 32% 171% (3%) (13%)
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Return on equity (annualized) 32% 29% 14% 16%
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Cash and cash equivalents at
period end $ 10,859 $ 9,929 $ 10,859 $ 9,929
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Grey Horse has recorded the most profitable quarter in its history in terms of net income and earnings per share on the strength of its foreign exchange operations, trust related transactions and modest growth in transfer agency revenues, despite continuing difficult economic and market conditions.
Revenues for the quarter were higher than last year, increasing 13% to $6,427 (and 6% to $15,492 for the year to date). The increase in overall revenues was led by foreign exchange revenues, which increased 32% during the quarter (110% increase year to date). Grey Horse's core transfer agency business increased 3% in the third quarter (decrease of 9% for the year to date).
EBITDA increased by $493 or 23% for the quarter, and decreased by $172 or 4% year to date. Net income for the quarter also increased 27% or $347 compared with last year (decreased 6% or $126 year to date). Basic and diluted earnings per share increased 32% to 25 cents per share for the quarter and dropped slightly to 32 cents per share year to date. Annualized Return on Equity increased from 29% to 32% during the quarter and decreased from 16% to 14% year to date; over the last twelve month period, ROE was 14%.
In the third quarter of 2009, the trust-related transactions of its subsidiary, Equity Transfer & Trust Company ("ETT"), increased significantly compared with recent previous quarters. ETT was entrusted with $9.6 billion related to financings and merger and acquisition activity, compared with $0.4 billion for the first and second quarters combined. ETT was named as depositary for a major transaction - the largest, by a factor of four, for which the Corporation has ever been engaged. As previously communicated, the amount of trust and foreign exchange revenues earned by the Corporation from year to year on such large volume transactions does not, in any way, vary proportionally with the amount deposited, and the current environment of low interest rates severely limits the returns on such balances held in trust compared with previous periods. Nevertheless, the Corporation considers the volume of underlying activity as increasing market acceptance of the Corporation's ability to undertake such large-scale trust related transactions and as demonstrating the success of efforts aimed at increasing the visibility and breadth of Grey Horse's services so as to win a steadily increasing share of these business opportunities.
Grey Horse President & CEO Paul G. Smith said, "We are very proud of our operating results for this recently ended 3rd quarter -- the most profitable in our 5-year history. Although our future successes will continue to depend on capital markets, interest rates and mergers and acquisitions, our strong management team, competitive service offering and solid balance sheet ensure that Grey Horse is well-positioned to weather ongoing volatile markets and capitalize on potential opportunities. We are also confident that continuing to focus on controlling costs, adding clients and increasing market share will yield higher earnings per share when market conditions improve."
Grey Horse's Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended September 30, 2009 can be found in the Corporation's filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com :
and on the Corporation's website at www.greyhorsecorp.com :
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Quarterly Conference Call
Grey Horse will hold a conference call on Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 9AM Eastern Daylight Time to discuss its first quarter operating results and answer questions. Participants can dial 416-340-8410 or Toll Free: 866-225-6564.
About Grey Horse
Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Grey Horse provides transfer agent, corporate trust, corporate secretary, foreign exchange and limited market dealer services to corporations in North American capital markets. Learn more at www.greyhorsecorp.com :
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Certain information included in press releases may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in such statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with Grey Horse's growth, the state of the financial markets, frequency of large volume transactions, regulatory risks and other factors. If and when forward-looking information is set out in this press release, Grey Horse will also set out the material risk factors or assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information will be updated as required pursuant to the requirements of National Instrument 51-102. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect Grey Horse's financial and business results is included in public documents Grey Horse files from time to time with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.
(1) The following unaudited information was determined in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, except for EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization and, for 2008, the loss on disposal of assets incurred during the first quarter) and Return on Equity (Net income divided by the average of opening and closing shareholders' equity), which do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by Canadian GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. However, the Corporation believes that these are viewed by financial analysts and investors as key measures of certain aspects of its performance. They should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities nor to any other measures of performance presented in accordance with Canadian GAAP.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.
Contacts:
Grey Horse Corporation
Kevin Reed
Vice-Chairman
(416) 361-0930
Grey Horse Corporation
Paul G. Smith
President & CEO
(416) 361-0930
