SPROTT INC. ANNOUNCES 2010 FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR END RESULTS

TORONTO, March 24 /CNW/ -- 
TORONTO, March 24 /CNW/ - Sprott Inc. (TSX: SII) ("Sprott" or the
 "Company") today announced its financial results for the three and
 twelve month periods ended December 31, 2010.


Fiscal 2010 Highlights


    --  Assets Under Management ("AUM") were $8.5 billion as at
        December 31, 2010, compared to $4.8 billion as at December 31,
        2009 and $6.5 billion as at September 30, 2010
    --  Performance fees were $200.1 million, an increase of $187.1
        million compared with 2009
    --  Management Fees were $103.7 million, an increase of 17.8%
        compared with 2009
    --  Base EBITDA was $43.4 million, compared with $33.7 million in
        2009
    --  Cash Flow from Operations was $1.01 per share compared with
        $0.20 per share in 2009
    --  EBITDA was $202.0 million, compared with $48.5 million in 2009,
        an increase of 316.8%
    --  Net income increased by 312.3% to $131.2 million ($0.87 per
        share), from $31.8 million ($0.21 per share) in 2009
    --  Peter Grosskopf appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sprott
        Inc.
    --  Signed Letter of Intent to acquire Global Group of Companies
    --  Completed IPO of Sprott Physical Gold Trust and two follow-on
        offerings and IPO of Sprott Physical Silver Trust for total
        gross proceeds of US$1.6 billion
    --  Completed IPO of Sprott 2010 Flow-Through Limited Partnership
        for gross proceeds of $51.0 million
    --  Sprott Consulting entered into management services agreements
        with Sprott Resource Lending Corp. and Sprott Power Corp.
    --  Launched Fixed Income product suite
    --  Sprott Capital Hedge LP was named "Fund of the Year" at the
        2010 AR Awards



Subsequent events:


    --  Completed acquisition of Global Group of Companies
    --  Paid special dividends totalling $0.72 per share
    --  Completed IPO of Sprott 2011 Flow Through Limited Partnership
        for gross proceeds of $90.7 million
    --  Named David Franklin Chief Executive Officer of Sprott Private
        Wealth



"In 2010, driven by both outstanding investment performance and strong
 inflows into new products and businesses, our Assets Under Management
 increased almost 80% to $8.5 billion," said Peter Grosskopf, CEO of
 Sprott "On the year, eleven of our funds posted returns of more than
 30% of which four delivered returns greater than 50%. These exceptional
 results generated more than $200 million in performance fees for
 Sprott. Based on these results, the Board of Directors declared special
 dividends totaling 72 cents per share."


"In addition to our record performance for the year, we also made
 excellent progress advancing our growth strategy and diversifying our
 business," continued Mr. Grosskopf. "The acquisition of the Global
 Companies allowed us to establish a foothold in the U.S., while
 strengthening our already deep investment team with the additions of
 Rick Rule and his team of technical resource investment experts. We
 also launched several other platforms for growth, including the Sprott
 Physical Gold Trust and the Sprott Physical Silver Trust, which
 together have contributed $2 billion to our Assets Under Management."


"Sprott Consulting was very active in 2010, with Sprott Resource Lending
 Corp. and Sprott Power Corp. joining Sprott Resource Corp. in its
 portfolio of managed companies," added Mr. Grosskopf. "Kevin Bambrough
 and his team have proven to be ahead of the crowd when it comes to
 investing in real assets to create real wealth. With growing investor
 interest in agriculture, energy, and precious metals, we believe they
 are poised to deliver tremendous results in 2011, as the broader market
 begins to align with our macro-economic views."





 ____________________________________________________________________
|         $ millions    |Year ended December |Year ended December 31,|
|                       |      31, 2010      |         2009          |
|_______________________|____________________|_______________________|
|AUM, beginning of year |               4,774|                  4,449|
|_______________________|____________________|_______________________|
|Net sales (redemptions)|               1,448|                  (571)|
|_______________________|____________________|_______________________|
|Market value           |               2,323|                    896|
|appreciation of        |                    |                       |
|portfolios             |                    |                       |
|_______________________|____________________|_______________________|
|AUM, end of year       |               8,545|                  4,774|
|_______________________|____________________|_______________________|




Assets Under Management
For the year ended December 31, 2010, AUM were approximately $8.5
 billion, compared with $4.8 billion at December 31, 2009.  The 79%
 increase in AUM resulted from a combination of strong net flows and
 $2.3 billion in market value appreciation of Funds, Managed Accounts
 and Managed Companies. Net sales for the year were $1.5 billion,
 compared with net redemptions of $571 million for the year ended
 December 31, 2009.


During the fourth quarter of 2010, AUM increased by $2.0 billion to $8.5
 billion from $6.5 billion at September 30, 2010. The increase reflected
 the combination of $573 million in net sales and $1.5 billion in net
 market value appreciation of Funds, Managed Accounts and Managed
 Companies. The majority of the net sales during the quarter were
 related to the launch of the Sprott Physical Silver Trust.


Income Statement
Total revenue for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased by 200.4%
 to $323.0 million, from $107.5 million in 2009.


Management fees increased by 17.8% to $103.7 million, from $88.0 million
 in 2009, as monthly average AUM increased by approximately 30.7% over
 the same period.  Management fee margins fell to 1.77% in 2010 from
 1.96% in 2009. The decrease is mainly due the significant growth in
 bullion funds, which have a lower management fee than the majority of
 the other Sprott Funds.


Performance fees for the year ended December 31, 2010 were $200.1
 million, compared with $13.0 million in the prior year. In 2010,
 Performance fees were generated mainly by domestic hedge funds and
 offshore funds and a number of mutual funds that previously had
 carry-forward return deficiencies, recaptured those deficiencies and
 began accruing performance fees. In 2009, the majority of performance
 fees were generated by the Company's domestic and offshore hedge funds.


Gains from proprietary investments totaled $8.5 million for the year
 ended December 31, 2010, compared with gains of $5.0 million in 2009.
 In 2010, sales of public equities resulted in a net realized gain of
 $0.4 million, and the market value of proprietary investments increased
 by $8.1 million.


Commissions revenue for the year increased to $6.2 million from $0.l
 million the prior year. The significant increase was mainly due to
 commissions earned by Sprott Private Wealth LP on the sale of Sprott
 products and private placement opportunities to Sprott Private Wealth
 clients.


Other income increased by $3.1 million in 2010 to $4.5 million from $1.4
 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.


Total expenses for the year ended December 31, 2010 were $150.0 million,
 an increase of $87.6 million, or 140.5%, compared with $62.4 million
 for 2009.  The increase in the current year is mainly attributable to
 an increase in compensation and benefits of $55.7 million, an increase
 in stock-based compensation of $25.7 million, trailer fees of $2.4
 million, general and administrative costs of $2.6 million, and
 donations expense of $1.2 million.


Net income for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $131.2 million
 ($0.87 per share) as compared with net income of $31.8 million ($0.21
 per share) in 2009.


For the fourth quarter of 2010, total revenue was $241.9 million
 compared with $35.7 million in the prior year period. Management fees
 increased to $31.5 million from $23.1 million. Performance fees
 increased to $199.1 million from $10.6 million in the fourth quarter of
 2009. Base EBITDA was $12.4 million, compared with $10.0 million in the
 fourth quarter of 2009. Net income was $108.0 million ($0.72 per share)
 compared to $13.3 million ($0.09 per share) in the prior year period.


Dividends
On January 10, 2011, a special dividend in the amount of $0.60 per
 common share was declared. The special dividend related to performance
 fees received for 2010 and was paid to shareholders of record at the
 close of business on February 3, 2011.


On March 22, 2011, the Company declared a second special dividend of
 $0.12 per common share related to performance fees received for 2010.
 The shares issued from treasury on February 4, 2011 as a result of the
 acquisition of the Global Companies are not eligible to receive this
 dividend.


On March 22, 2011, the Company declared a dividend of $0.03 per common
 share for the quarter ended December 31, 2010. The shares issued from
 treasury on February 4, 2011 as a result of the acquisition of the
 Global Companies are not eligible to receive this dividend.


Conference Call and Webcast
A conference call and webcast will be held today, Thursday, March 24,
 2011, at 10:00am ET to discuss the Company's financial results. To
 access the call, please dial 647-427-7450 or 1-888-231-8191 ten minutes
 prior to the scheduled start of the call. A taped replay of the
 conference call will be available until Thursday, March 31, 2011 by
 calling 416-849-0833 or 1-800-642-1687, reference number 47229729.


The conference call will also be webcast live at www.sprottinc.com and www.newswire.ca. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for 365 days.


*Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes financial terms (including AUM, EBITDA, Base
 EBITDA, Cash Flow from Operations and net sales) that the Company
 utilizes to assess the financial performance of its business that are
 not measures recognized under Canadian generally accepted accounting
 principles ("GAAP"). These non-GAAP measures should not be considered
 alternatives to performance measures determined in accordance with GAAP
 and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other
 issuers. For additional information regarding the Company's use of
 non-GAAP measures, including the calculation of these measures, please
 refer to the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section of the Company's
 Management's Discussion and Analysis and its financial statements
 available on the Company's website at www.sprottinc.com and on SEDAR at
 www.sedar.com.


Forward-Looking Statements 
This release contains "forward-looking statements" which reflect the
 current expectations of the Company. These statements reflect
 management's current beliefs with respect to future events and are
 based on information currently available to management. Forward-looking
 statements involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties
 and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance
 or achievements to be materially different from any future results,
 performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such
 forward-looking statements including, without limitation, those listed
 under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information
 form dated March 31, 2010. Should one or more of these risks or
 uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the
 forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance
 or achievements could vary materially from those expressed or implied
 by the forward-looking statements contained in this release. Although
 the forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon
 what the Company believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company
 cannot assure investors that actual results, performance or
 achievements will be consistent with these forward-looking statements.
 These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this
 release and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or
 revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.


About Sprott Inc.
Sprott Inc. is a leading independent asset manager dedicated to
 achieving superior returns for its clients over the long term. The
 Company currently operates through four business units: Sprott Asset
 Management LP, Sprott Private Wealth LP, Sprott Consulting LP, and
 Sprott U.S. Holdings Inc.  Sprott Asset Management is the investment
 manager of the Sprott family of mutual funds and hedge funds and
 discretionary managed accounts; Sprott Private Wealth provides wealth
 management services to high net worth individuals; and Sprott
 Consulting provides management, administrative and consulting services
 to other companies, including Sprott Resource Corp. (TSX: SCP), Sprott
 Resource Lending Corp. (TSX: SIL) (NYSE AMEX: SILU) and Sprott Power
 Corp. (TSX: SPZ). Sprott U.S. Holdings Inc. includes Global Resource
 Investments Ltd, Terra Resource Investment Management Inc., and
 Resource Capital Investments Inc. Sprott Inc. is headquartered in
 Toronto, Canada, and is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the
 symbol "SII". For more information on Sprott Inc., please visit www.sprottinc.com. 


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