Power Corporation Reports First Quarter 2022 Financial Results

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

MONTREAL, May 11, 2022 /CNW/ - Power Corporation of Canada (Power Corporation or the Corporation) (TSX: POW) today reported earnings results for the three months ended March 31, 2022.

Power Corporation
Consolidated results for the period ended March 31, 2022

HIGHLIGHTS

Power Corporation

• The Corporation reported net earnings [1] of $478 million or $0.71 per share [2] for the first quarter of 2022, compared with $556 million or $0.82 per share in 2021. Adjusted net earnings [1][3] were $515 million or $0.76 per share, compared with $786 million or $1.16 per share in 2021.
• Adjusted net asset value per share [3] was $49.92 at March 31, 2022, compared with $52.60 at December 31, 2021. The Corporation's book value per participating share [4] was $33.32 at March 31, 2022, compared with $34.56 at December 31, 2021.
• In 2022, the Corporation purchased for cancellation 7,192,900 subordinate voting shares for a total of $280 million under its normal course issuer bids.

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (Lifeco)

• First quarter adjusted net earnings [5] were $809 million, up 9% compared with the first quarter of 2021.
• Total assets were $600 billion and assets under administration [3] were $2.2 trillion at March 31, 2022, compared with total assets of $630 billion and assets under administration of $2.3 trillion at December 31, 2021.
• On April 1, 2022, Empower, a subsidiary of Lifeco, completed the acquisition of the full-service retirement services business of Prudential Financial, Inc. (Prudential). Empower's reach in the U.S. is now expanded to more than 17.1 million retirement plan participants and assets under administration to US$1.4 trillion.
• Canada Life was rated as the fourth most valued brand in Canada by Brand Finance, making Canada Life the first insurance company ever to jump into its top five most valuable brands in Canada.

IGM Financial Inc. (IGM)

• Record-high first quarter net earnings of $219.3 million, up 8% from the first quarter of 2021.
• Record-high first quarter assets under management and advisement [4] of $268.3 billion, up 8% from the first quarter of 2021 and down 3% from December 31, 2021.
• Record-high first quarter net inflows of $2.5 billion, compared with net inflows of $2.3 billion in the first quarter of 2021.

Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (GBL)

• GBL reported a net asset value [4] of €21.3 billion, representing €136.10 per share, compared with €22.5 billion or €143.91 per share at December 31, 2021.
• In the first quarter of 2022, GBL completed €202 million of share buybacks. GBL's board of directors approved an additional buyback envelope of €500 million on May 5, 2022.
• GBL announced two strategic investments in the healthcare sector with majority shareholdings in private companies Affidea Group B.V. and Sanoptis AG, leaders in their sector, in April 2022.

Sagard Holdings Inc. (Sagard) and Power Sustainable Capital Inc. (Power Sustainable)

• Assets under management [4], including unfunded commitments, of the alternative asset investment platforms were $19 billion, up from $11 billion at March 31, 2021.
• On March 30, 2022, Power Sustainable announced the launch of its North American agri-food private equity platform, Power Sustainable Lios, and its inaugural Lios Fund I. Power Sustainable Lios is a specialized agri-food private equity investment platform supporting the sustainability transformation occurring within the food system.

FIRST QUARTER

Net earnings attributable to participating shareholders were $478 million or $0.71 per share, compared with $556 million or $0.82 per share in 2021.

Adjusted net earnings attributable to participating shareholders [1] were $515 million or $0.76 per share, compared with $786 million or $1.16 per share in 2021.

Contributions to Power Corporation's Earnings

Lifeco: contribution to net earnings increased by 8.5% and contribution to adjusted net earnings increased by 9.1%.

IGM: contribution to net and adjusted net earnings increased by 8.0%.

GBL: negative contribution to net earnings of $29 million. Results include the Corporation's share of a charge of $44 million in the first quarter of 2022 for losses due to an increase in the put right liability of the non-controlling interests in Webhelp Group (Webhelp) and charges related to Webhelp's employee incentive plan.

Alternative asset investment platforms: net earnings include a negative contribution of $92 million from Power Sustainable mainly related to realized losses and impairments in the Power Sustainable China portfolio of $67 million and a $10 million impairment charge in its energy infrastructure platform.

Standalone businesses: contribution to net and adjusted net earnings of $4 million.

Corporate operations and Other: the comparative period includes an income tax expense of $38 million, primarily related to the deferred tax expense resulting from the realization of gains recorded in earnings on the sale of investments.

Adjustments in the first quarter of 2022, excluded from adjusted net earnings, were a net negative impact to earnings of $37 million or $0.05 per share, mainly related to the Corporation's share of Lifeco's adjustments and the Corporation's share of an impairment charge of $10 million recognized by Power Sustainable on direct investments in energy assets. Adjustments in the first quarter of 2021 were a negative net impact to earnings of $230 million or $0.34 per share, mainly related to the Corporation's share of the charge arising from the remeasurement of the put right liability of certain of the non-controlling interests in Wealthsimple Financial Corp. (Wealthsimple) to fair value of $208 million. These were reflected in the Adjustments of the alternative and other investments and in the Effect of consolidation based on Lifeco's and IGM's respective interest.

Great-West Lifeco, IGM Financial and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert
Results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022

Contribution to net earnings from the publicly traded operating companies were $659 million, compared with $525 million in 2021, representing an increase of 26%.

Contribution to adjusted net earnings from the publicly traded operating companies were $686 million, compared with $655 million in 2021, representing an increase of 5%.

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC.

FIRST QUARTER

Net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $770 million or $0.83 per share, compared with $707 million or $0.76 per share in 2021.

Adjusted net earnings [1] attributable to common shareholders were $809 million or $0.87 per share, compared with $739 million or $0.80 per share in 2021.

Adjustments in the first quarter of 2022, excluded from adjusted net earnings, were a net negative earnings impact of $39 million, compared with a net negative impact to earnings of $32 million in 2021. Lifeco's adjustments in 2022 consisted of a negative impact on earnings from:

• Actuarial assumption changes and other management actions of $9 million;
• Market-related impacts on liabilities of $11 million;
• Restructuring and integration costs of $12 million; and
• Transaction costs of $7 million related to the acquisition of the full-service retirement business of Prudential, as well as acquisitions in the Europe segment.

IGM FINANCIAL INC.

FIRST QUARTER

Net earnings available to common shareholders were $219.3 million or $0.91 per share, compared with $202.2 million or $0.85 per share in 2021.

Assets under management and advisement at March 31, 2022 were $268.3 billion, an increase of 8% from the first quarter of 2021 and a decrease of 3% from December 31, 2021.

GROUPE BRUXELLES LAMBERT

FIRST QUARTER

GBL reported net losses of €126 million, compared with net earnings of €225 million in 2021.

GBL reported a net asset value at March 31, 2022 of €21,280 million, representing €136.10 per share, compared with €22,501 million or €143.91 per share at December 31, 2021.

GBL adopted IFRS 9 in 2018. Power Corporation continues to apply IAS 39; this resulted in a positive adjustment to the contribution from GBL of $43 million in the first quarter of 2022.

Alternative and Other Investments
Results for the quarter ended March 31, 2022

FIRST QUARTER

Net loss of alternative and other investments, including standalone businesses, was $92 million, compared with net earnings of $156 million in the corresponding period in 2021. Adjusted net earnings of alternative and other investments was a loss of $82 million, compared with adjusted net earnings of $256 million in the corresponding period in 2021.

SAGARD AND POWER SUSTAINABLE

Net earnings in the first quarter include a net negative contribution of $27 million from the asset management activities of Sagard and Power Sustainable, as well as a net contribution from investing activities of Sagard of $14 million, offset by a negative contribution from Power Sustainable's investing activities of $79 million which includes realized losses and impairments in the Power Sustainable China portfolio of $67 million and a $10 million impairment charge on direct energy infrastructure investments.

Summary of assets under management [1] (including unfunded commitments):

STANDALONE BUSINESSES

Net earnings of the standalone businesses in the first quarter of 2022 were $4 million, compared with $1 million in the comparative period in 2021.

At March 31, 2022, the fair value of standalone businesses was $1.3 billion, compared with $1.4 billion at March 31, 2021.

Adjusted Net Asset Value and Participating Shareholders' Equity
At March 31, 2022

ADJUSTED NET ASSET VALUE

The Corporation's adjusted net asset value per share was $49.92 at March 31, 2022, compared with $52.60 at December 31, 2021, representing a decrease of 5.1%.

Power Corporation's Ownership in Publicly Traded Operating Companies

PARTICIPATING SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

The Corporation's book value per participating share was $33.32 at March 31, 2022, compared with $34.56 at December 31, 2021, a decrease of 3.6%.

Dividend on Power Corporation Participating Shares

The Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of 49.50 cents per share on the Participating Preferred Shares and the Subordinate Voting Shares of the Corporation, payable July 29, 2022 to shareholders of record June 30, 2022.

Dividends on Power Corporation Non-Participating Preferred Shares

The Board of Directors also declared quarterly dividends on the Corporation's preferred shares, payable July 15, 2022 to shareholders of record June 23, 2022:

Investor Information

About Power Corporation

Power Corporation is an international management and holding company that focuses on financial services in North America, Europe and Asia. Its core holdings are leading insurance, retirement, wealth management and investment businesses, including a portfolio of alternative asset investment platforms. To learn more, visit www.PowerCorporation.com.

At March 31, 2022, Power Corporation held the following economic interests:

Earnings Summary

Contribution to Adjusted Net Earnings and Net Earnings

Contribution to Adjusted Net Earnings per Share and Net Earnings per Share

Alternative and Other Investments – Earnings

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

Net earnings attributable to participating shareholders are comprised of:

• Adjusted net earnings attributable to participating shareholders; and
• Adjustments, which include the after-tax impact of any item that in management's judgment, including those identified by management of its publicly traded operating companies, would make the period-over-period comparison of results from operations less meaningful. Includes the Corporation's share of Lifeco's impact of actuarial assumption changes and other management actions, direct equity and interest rate market impacts on insurance and investment contract liabilities net of hedging, as well as items that management believes are not indicative of the underlying business results which include those identified by a subsidiary or a jointly controlled corporation. Items that management and management of its subsidiaries believe are not indicative of the underlying business results include restructuring or reorganization costs, integration costs related to business acquisitions, material legal settlements, material impairment charges, impact of substantially enacted income tax rate changes and other tax impairments, certain non-recurring material items, and net gains, losses or costs related to the disposition or acquisition of a business.

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 it reflects management's view of the operating performance of the Corporation and its subsidiaries and excludes items that are not considered to be part of the underlying business results.

Adjusted net asset value is commonly used by holding companies to assess their value. Adjusted net asset value is the fair value of the assets of the combined Power Corporation and Power Financial holding company balance sheet less their net debt and preferred shares. The investments held in public entities (including Lifeco, IGM and GBL) are measured at their market value and investments in private entities and investment funds are measured at management's estimate of fair value. This measure presents the fair value of the net assets of the holding company to management and investors, and assists the reader in determining or comparing the fair value of investments held by the holding company or its overall fair value.

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

Presentation of Holding Company Activities
The Corporation's reportable segments include Lifeco, IGM and GBL, which represent the Corporation's investments in publicly traded operating companies. These reportable segments, in addition to the asset management and holding company activities, reflect Power Corporation's management structure and internal financial reporting. The Corporation evaluates its performance based on the operating segment's contribution to earnings.

The holding company activities comprise the corporate activities of the Corporation and Power Financial, on a combined basis, and present the investment activities of the Corporation as a holding company. The investment activities of the holding company, including the investments in Lifeco, IGM and controlled entities within the alternative asset investment platforms, are presented using the equity method. The holding company activities also present the corporate assets and liabilities managed, including the cash and non-participating shares. The discussions included in the sections "Financial Position" and "Cash Flows" of the Corporation's most recent MD&A present the segmented balance sheet and cash flow statement of the holding company; these non-consolidated statements are presented in Note 19 of the Corporation's Interim Consolidated Financial Statements. This presentation is useful to the reader as it presents the holding company's (parent) results separately from the results of its consolidated operating subsidiaries.

RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

Power Corporation
ADJUSTED NET EARNINGS

ADJUSTMENTS (excluded from Adjusted net earnings)

ADJUSTED NET ASSET VALUE

The Corporation's adjusted net asset value per share was $49.92 at March 31, 2022, compared with $52.60 at December 31, 2021, representing a decrease of 5.1%. The Corporation's book value per participating share was $33.32 at March 31, 2022, compared with $34.56 at December 31, 2021, representing a decrease of 3.6%.

This news release also contains other non-IFRS financial measures which are publicly disclosed by the Corporation's subsidiaries including adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per share and Lifeco's assets under administration. The section below includes the description and reconciliation of the non-IFRS financial measures included in this news release as reported by the Corporation's subsidiaries. The information below is derived from Lifeco's first quarter MD&A, as prepared and disclosed in accordance with applicable securities legislation, and which is also available either directly from SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or from its website, www.greatwestlifeco.com.

Lifeco
ADJUSTED NET EARNINGS ATTRIBUTABLE TO LIFECO'S COMMON SHAREHOLDERS

• Adjusted net earnings (loss) [1] reflect Lifeco management's view of the underlying business performance of Lifeco and provide an alternate measure to understand the underlying business performance compared to IFRS net earnings. Adjusted net earnings (loss) exclude the following items:
• The impact of actuarial assumption changes and other management actions;
• The net earnings impact related to the direct equity and interest rate market impacts on insurance and investment contract liabilities, net of hedging, and related deferred tax liabilities, which includes:
• the impact of hedge ineffectiveness related to segregated fund guarantee liabilities that are hedged and the performance of the related hedge assets;
• the impact on segregated fund guarantee liabilities not hedged;
• the impact on general fund equity and investment properties supporting insurance contract liabilities;
• other market impacts on insurance and investment contract liabilities and deferred tax liabilities, including those arising from the difference between actual and expected market movements; and
• Certain items that, when removed, assist in explaining Lifeco's underlying business performance including restructuring costs, integration costs related to business acquisitions, material legal settlements, material impairment charges related to goodwill and intangible assets, impact of substantially enacted income tax rate changes and other tax impairments and net gains, losses or costs related to the disposition or acquisition of a business.

LIFECO'S ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT AND ASSETS UNDER ADMINISTRATION

Total assets under administration includes total assets per Lifeco's financial statements, other assets under management and other assets under administration. Please refer to the "Glossary" section of Lifeco's most recent Management's Discussion and Analysis for additional information regarding other assets under management and other assets under administration.

OTHER MEASURES

This press release and other continuous disclosure documents also include other measures used to discuss activities of the Corporation's consolidated publicly traded operating companies and alternative asset investment platforms including, but not limited to, "assets under management", "assets under administration", "assets under management and advisement", "book value per participating share", "carried interest", "net asset value", and "unfunded commitments". Refer to the section "Other Measures" in the Corporation's most recent MD&A, which can be located in the Corporation's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, for a definition of such measure, which definition is incorporated herein by reference.

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.

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, the Corporation's sale of its interest in ChinaAMC to IGM and IGM's sale of a portion of its interest in Lifeco, and related impacts and timing thereof, and the Corporation's subsidiaries' disclosed expectations, including the expectations as a result of acquisitions and the impacts and timing of pending acquisitions. 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, fluctuations in interest rates, inflation and foreign exchange rates, monetary policies, business investment and the health of local and global equity and capital markets, management of market liquidity and funding risks, risks related to investments in private companies and illiquid securities, risks associated with financial instruments, changes in accounting policies and methods used to report financial condition (including uncertainties associated with significant judgments, estimates and assumptions), the effect of applying future accounting changes, business competition, operational and reputational risks, technological changes, cybersecurity risks, changes in government regulation and legislation, changes in tax laws, unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings, catastrophic events, man-made disasters, terrorist attacks, wars and other conflicts (such as the invasion of Ukraine), or an outbreak of a public health pandemic or other public health crises (such as COVID-19), the Corporation's and its subsidiaries' ability to complete strategic transactions, integrate acquisitions and implement other growth strategies, the Corporation's and its subsidiaries' success in anticipating and managing the foregoing factors and with respect to forward-looking statements of the Corporation's subsidiaries' disclosed in this news release, the factors identified by such subsidiaries in their respective MD&A.

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 any required approvals (including regulatory approvals) for strategic transactions, acquisitions, divestitures or other growth or optimization strategies will be received when and on such terms as are expected, and that the list of risks and uncertainties in the previous paragraph, collectively, are not expected to have a material impact on the Corporation and its subsidiaries and with respect to forward-looking statements of the Corporation's subsidiaries disclosed in this news release, the risks identified by such subsidiaries in their respective current annual and most recent interim MD&A and Annual Information Form most recently filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com. 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 current annual and most recent interim MD&A and Annual Information Form, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE Power Corporation of Canada

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