Pinetree Capital Ltd Announces Audited Financial Results For The Year Ended December 31, 2019

Pinetree Capital Ltd. (TSX:PNP) (“Pinetree” or the “Company”) today announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2019.  All figures provided in this press release are in $’000 except per share amounts and shares outstanding.

Financial Results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2019

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, 2019, which can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Selected Financial Information 

	As at December 31, 2019		As at December 31, 2018
Total assets	$	18,227	$	16,375
Total liabilities		329		395
Book value		17,898		15,980
Shares outstanding		9,045,198		9,045,198
Book value per share – basic*	$	1.98	$	1.77

As at December 31, 2019, Pinetree’s BVPS was $1.98 as compared to $1.77 as at December 31, 2018. This represents an increase of $0.21 or 12%. The increase was primarily attributable to net investment gains, net dispositions in the investment portfolio, and other income from dividends and interest which out-paced the Company’s expenses during the period.

As at December 31, 2019, the Company held investments at fair value totaling $10,105, which represented 56% of book value.  This compares to investments at fair value of $8,969 representing 56% of book value as at December 31, 2018.

The following is Pinetree's Book Value Per Share (“BPVS”) and Operating Expenses excluding foreign exchange gain or loss (“OpEx”) as a percentage of book value for the eight most recently completed interim financial periods:

	Shares Outstanding	Book Value (BV)1	OpEx1 (excluding F/X gain/loss)2	Book Value per share (BVPS)1	Quarterly OpEx as percentage of BV1
		$000’s	$000’s	$	%
Dec-31-19	9,045,198	17,898	155	1.98	0.9
Sep-30-19	9,045,198	17,295	80	1.91	0.5
Jun-30-19	9,045,198	17,350	118	1.92	0.7
Mar-31-19	9,045,198	17,106	119	1.89	0.7
Dec-31-18	9,045,198	15,980	103	1.77	0.6
Sept-30-18	9,045,198	16,326	171	1.80	1.0
Jun-30-18	9,045,198	18,925	121	2.09	0.6
Mar-31-18	9,045,198	18,639	139	2.06	0.7

1 Refer to “Use of Non-IFRS Financial Measures”Shares Outstanding and Book Value amounts are as at the Quarter End dateOperating Expenses amounts are for the Three months ending the Quarter End date2 Operating Expenses do not include Foreign Exchange gain (loss) on financial assets other than investments

During the period ended December 31, 2019, the Company continued to take a disciplined approach to capital allocation and OpEx control. OpEx for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 was $472 which corresponds to 2.6% of book value as at December 31, 2019. This compares to OpEx of $534 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 which corresponds to 3.3% of book value as at December 31, 2018. Since expenses fluctuate from quarter to quarter, costs are primarily managed on a trailing twelve month basis.

	Three months endedDecember 31,						Year ended December 31,
		2019			2018			2019			2018
Net investment gains (losses)	$	696		$	(330	)	$	2,137		$	(2,164	)
Other income		96			74			352			275
Total expenses		(189	)		(125	)		(571	)		(471	)
Net income (loss) for the period		603			(381	)		1,918			(2,360	)
Earnings (loss) per share – basic & fully diluted		0.07			(0.04	)		0.21			(0.26	)

The net investment gain for the three months ended December 31, 2019 was $696, compared to a net investment loss of $330 for the three months ended December 31, 2018. The Company had a net change in unrealized gains on investments that was in excess of the net realized losses during the quarter. The net change in unrealized gains was primarily from the disposition of investments, creating a reversal of previously recognized net unrealized losses, as well as the net write-up to market on the Company’s investments.

For the three months ended December 31, 2019, other income totalled $96 (three months ended December 31, 2018 - $74). Other income is comprised of interest and dividend income of $78 and $18, respectively (three months ended December 31, 2018 – interest and dividend income of $68 and $6, respectively).

The net investment gain for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $2,137, compared to a net investment loss of $2,164 for the year ended December 31, 2018. Similar to the three months ended December 31, 2019, during the year the Company had a net change in unrealized gains on investments that was in excess of the net realized losses during the year.

For the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, other income totalled $352 (twelve months ended December 31, 2018 - $275). Other income is comprised of interest and dividend income of $289 and $63, respectively (twelve months ended December 31, 2018 – interest and dividend income of $260 and $15, respectively).

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.

Use of Non-IFRS Measures

This press release contains references to “Book Value” and “Book Value per share” (“BVPS”) as a measure of the performance of the Company as a whole. Book value is the shareholders’ equity at the date of the statement of financial position, otherwise calculated as the total assets minus the total liabilities. Book Value is divided by the total number of common shares outstanding as at a specific date to give BVPS. Book Value and BVPS do not have any standardized meaning according to IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.  These amounts are not performance measures as defined under IFRS and should not be considered either in isolation of, or as a substitute for, net earnings prepared in accordance with IFRS.

About Pinetree Capital Ltd.

Pinetree is a value-oriented investment and merchant banking company focused on the technology sector.  Pinetree’s common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol “PNP”.

For further information:John BouffardChief Financial [e-mail]