Power Financial Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter Financial Results and Dividend Increase of 6.4%

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

MONTRÉAL, March 18, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Power Financial Corporation (TSX: PWF) today reported earnings results for the fourth quarter and twelve months ended December 31, 2014.

FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS
Operating earnings attributable to common shareholders (a non-IFRS financial measure) for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 were $525 million or $0.74 per share, compared with $403 million or $0.57 per share in 2013.

Other items, not included in operating earnings, were a net charge of $19 million mainly comprised of the Corporation's share of the gain realized by Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL) on the sale of part of its interest in Total SA (Total), offset by the Corporation's share of the after-tax charge recorded by IGM Financial Inc. (IGM). In the corresponding period of 2013, other items represented a contribution of $190 million. Additional details on other items can be found below in the IGM Financial section and in the table entitled "Other Items".

Net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $506 million or $0.71 per share, compared with $593 million or $0.84 per share in 2013.

2014 RESULTS
Operating earnings attributable to common shareholders for the twelve months ended December 31, 2014 were $2,105 million or $2.96 per share, compared with $1,708 million or $2.40 per share in 2013. 

Other items, not included in operating earnings, were a contribution of $31 million, compared with $188 million in 2013.

Net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $2,136 million or $3.00 per share, compared with $1,896 million or $2.67 per share in 2013.

RESULTS OF GREAT-WEST LIFECO, IGM FINANCIAL AND PARGESA HOLDING

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Lifeco) reported operating and net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $657 million or $0.658 per share. In the corresponding period of 2013, Lifeco reported operating earnings of $491 million or $0.491 per share. Including the impact of a litigation recovery of $226 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, net earnings were $717 million or $0.717 per share.

For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2014, Lifeco reported operating and net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $2,546 million or $2.549 per share. In the corresponding period of 2013, Lifeco reported operating earnings of $2,052 million or $2.108 per share. Net earnings in 2013 were $2,278 million or $2.340 per share.

On February 12, 2015, Lifeco announced an increase of the quarterly dividend on its common shares from $0.3075 to $0.3260 per share, payable March 31, 2015.

At December 31, 2014, Power Financial and IGM held 67.2% and 4.0%, respectively, of Lifeco's common shares. Lifeco's contribution to Power Financial's operating earnings was $442 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, compared with $330 million in 2013. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, Lifeco's contribution to Power Financial's operating earnings was $1,710 million, compared with $1,391 million in 2013.

IGM FINANCIAL INC.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, IGM reported operating earnings available to common shareholders of $208.1 million or $0.83 per share, compared with $198.7 million or $0.79 per share in 2013. Other items, which are excluded from operating earnings, consisted of an after-tax charge of $59.2 million related to distributions to clients who did not transfer to lower-priced solutions when eligible. Other items in the corresponding quarter of 2013 were a net charge of $1.6 million. For the three months ended December 31, 2014, net earnings available to common shareholders were $148.9 million or $0.59 per share, compared with $197.1 million or $0.78 per share in 2013.

For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2014, IGM reported operating earnings available to common shareholders of $826.1 million or $3.27 per share, compared with $763.5 million or $3.02 per share in the corresponding period in 2013. In addition to the other items disclosed above, other items in the twelve-month period of 2014 included an after-tax charge of $13.6 million related to restructuring and other charges. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, net earnings available to common shareholders were $753.3 million or $2.98 per share, compared with $761.9 million or $3.02 per share in 2013.

On February 13, 2015, IGM declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5625 per share on its common shares, payable on April 30, 2015.

At December 31, 2014, Power Financial and The Great-West Life Assurance Company, a subsidiary of Lifeco, held 58.8% and 3.7%, respectively, of IGM's common shares. IGM contributed $122 million to Power Financial's operating earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, compared with $115 million in 2013. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, IGM's contribution to Power Financial's operating earnings was $488 million, compared with $446 million in 2013.

PARGESA HOLDING SA
For the quarter ended December 31, 2014, Pargesa reported operating earnings of SF45 million, compared with SF63 million in 2013. Other items in the fourth quarter of 2014 were a contribution of SF67 million, comprised of Pargesa's share of the gain recorded by GBL on the partial disposal of Total shares for an amount of SF99 million, which were partially offset by other charges. In the corresponding period of 2013, other items represented a contribution of SF154 million. Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2014 were SF112 million, compared with SF217 million in 2013.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2014, Pargesa reported operating earnings of SF339 million, compared with SF251 million in the same period in 2013. Other items were a contribution of SF298 million, compared with SF143 million in 2013. For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2014, net earnings were SF637 million, compared with SF394 million in 2013.

At its upcoming annual meeting in May, the board of directors of Pargesa will propose a 2014 dividend of SF2.27 per bearer share to be paid on May 11, 2015.

Power Financial holds a 50% interest in Parjointco N.V., which in turn holds a 55.5% equity interest in Pargesa at December 31, 2014. Pargesa's contribution to Power Financial's operating earnings was $14 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, compared with $21 million in 2013. For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2014, Pargesa's contribution to Power Financial's operating earnings was $112 million, compared with $76 million in 2013.

DIVIDENDS ON PREFERRED SHARES
The Board of Directors today declared quarterly dividends on the Corporation's preferred shares, as follows:

DIVIDEND ON COMMON SHARES
The Board of Directors also declared an increase of the quarterly dividend from 35 cents to 37.25 cents per share on the Corporation's common shares payable May 1, 2015 to shareholders of record March 31, 2015.

ABOUT POWER FINANCIAL
Power Financial Corporation is a diversified management and holding company that has interests, directly or indirectly, in companies in the financial services sector in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia. It also has diversified investments in industrial companies based in Europe. Power Financial Corporation is a member of the Power Corporation Group of Companies. To learn more, visit www.powerfinancial.com.

EARNINGS SUMMARY

OTHER ITEMS (NON-OPERATING)

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 and common shares are eligible dividends.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures and Presentation
In analyzing the financial results of the Corporation and consistent with the presentation in previous years, net earnings attributable to common shareholders are comprised of:

• operating earnings attributable to common shareholders; and
• other items or non-operating earnings, 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 also include the Corporation's share of any such item presented in a comparable manner by a subsidiary or a jointly controlled corporation or associate.

Management uses these financial measures in its presentation and analysis of the financial performance of Power Financial, and believes that they provide additional meaningful information to readers in their analysis of the results of the Corporation. Operating 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 part of ongoing activities are excluded from this non-IFRS measure.

Operating earnings attributable to common shareholders and operating 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, financial position and cash flows. In this basis of presentation, Power Financial's interests in Lifeco and IGM 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 parent's corporate operations apart from those of its operating subsidiaries thereby reflecting the individual respective contributions to the consolidated results.

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 Financial Corporation