TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

Pinetree Capital Ltd. (TSX:PNP) (“Pinetree” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2017.  All financial information provided in this press release is unaudited and all figures are in $’000 except per share amounts and shares outstanding.

Audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2017

The following information should be read in conjunction with our annual audited Consolidated Financial Statements, prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and our annual Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2017, which can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Selected Financial Information 

  Three months ended Year ended
  December 31,
2017
December 31,
2016
December 31,
2017
December 31,
2016
Net investment gain (loss) (392 ) (554 ) (1,482 ) (11,728 )
Other income 46     665   431  
Total expenses 212   286   917   3,810  
Net income (loss) for the period (562 ) (844 ) (1,734 ) (15,107 )
Income (loss) per share –
basic & fully diluted
(0.06 ) (0.22 ) (0.25 ) (4.00 )

The net investment loss for the three months ended December 31, 2017 was $392 (three months ended December 31, 2016 – net investment losses of $554) as a result of a net change in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments.

Other income for the three months ended December 31, 2017 is comprised of interest income of $46 (three months ended December 31, 2016 – other income of nil).

The net investment losses for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $1,482 (year ended December 31, 2016 – net investment losses of $11,728) as a result of a net change in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on investments.

Other income for the year ended December 31, 2017 is comprised of interest income of $71 (year ended December 31, 2016 – $14) and $594 (year ended December 31, 2016 – $nil) funds received from the settlement agreement on a class action law suit with a company whose shares used to be in Pinetree’s investment portfolio. Other income in the year ended December 31, 2016 also included $1 gain on purchase of convertible debentures under normal course issuer bid and $152 gain on redemption of convertible debentures.

  As at December 31, 2017 As at December 31, 2016
Total assets   18,697   11,024
Total liabilities   392   375
Net asset value   18,305   10,649
Shares outstanding   9,045,198   4,522,599
Net asset value per share – basic* $ 2.02 $ 2.35

As at December 31, 2017, the Company held investments at fair value totaling $9,268 as compared to $6,695 as at December 31, 2016, a 38% increase, attributable primarily to additions to the investment portfolio as well as net unrealized gain on existing investments offset by net realized losses during the year ended December 31, 2017.

The following is Pinetree’s NAV per share and Operating Expenses per NAV for the eight most recently completed interim financial periods:

  Shares
Outstanding
Net Asset
Value (NAV)
Operating
Expenses
(OpEx)
NAV per
share – basic*
Quarterly
OpEx per
NAV*
    $’000s $’000s $ %
Dec-30-17 9,045,198 18,305 212 2.02 1.2
Sep-30-17 9,045,198 18,867 272 2.09 1.4
Jun-30-17 9,045,198 18,839 142 2.08 0.8
Mar-31-17  4,522,599  10,154  274  2.25  2.7
Dec-31-16  4,522,599  10,649  286  2.35  2.7
Sep-30-16  4,522,599  11,481  261  2.54  2.3
Jun-30-16  4,522,599  12,327  1,938  2.73  15.7
Mar-31-16  2,261,305  18,938  1,019  8.37  5.4

* Refer to “Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures”
Shares Outstanding and Net Asset Value amounts are as at the Quarter End date
Operating Expenses amounts are for the Three months ending the Quarter End date

During the three months ended December 31, 2017, the Company continued to take a disciplined approach to capital management in order to fund ongoing operations of the Company. The Quarterly operating expenses as a percentage of NAV decreased due primarily to a decrease in operating expenses.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements herein may be “forward looking” statements that involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Pinetree or the industry to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved.  A number of factors could cause actual results to vary significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements reflect current assumptions and expectations regarding future events and operating performance and are made as of the date hereof and Pinetree assumes no obligation, except as required by law, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new events or circumstances.

Non-IFRS Measures, Non-GAAP Measures

NAV (net asset value per share) is a non-IFRS (international financial reporting standards) measure calculated as the value of total assets less the value of total liabilities divided by the total number of common shares outstanding as at a specific date. The term NAV does not have any standardized meaning according to IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.  There is no comparable IFRS measure presented in Pinetree’s consolidated financial statements and thus no applicable quantitative reconciliation for such non-IFRS financial measure.  The Company has calculated NAV consistently for many years and believes that NAV can provide information useful to its shareholders in understanding its performance and may assist in the evaluation of its business relative to that of its peers.

About Pinetree Capital Ltd.

Pinetree is a diversified investment and merchant banking firm focused on the small cap market, with early stage investments in technology, and resource companies.  Pinetree’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol “PNP”

For further information:

Damien Leonard
Chief Executive Officer
416-941-9600
[email protected]
www.pinetreecapital.com