ECN Capital Reports US$0.02 in Adjusted Net Income per Common Share in Q4-2022

Review of Strategic Alternatives Initiated to Maximize Long-Term Growth and Value

TORONTO, March 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) (“ECN Capital” or the “Company”) today reported financial results for the three-month period and year ended December 31, 2022.

For the three-month period ended December 31, 2022, ECN Capital reported Adjusted net income applicable to common shareholders from continuing operations of $4.1 million or $0.02 per share (basic) versus $11.8 million or $0.05 per share (basic) for the previous three-month period and net loss of $.5 million or $0.00 per share (basic) for the same period last year. For the twelve-month period, the Company reported Adjusted net Income applicable to common shareholders of $30.7 million or $0.12 per share (basic) versus $0.9 million or $0.00 per share (basic) for the same period last year.

“As a result of expressed interest in ECN, we initiated a Board approved review of strategic alternatives in Q1 designed to maximize long-term growth and value for shareholders,” said Steven Hudson, CEO of ECN Capital Corp. “ECN’s operating businesses continue to produce tremendous franchise value through the origination and management of unique credit assets of behalf of funding partners including lifecos, credit investors, pensions banks and credit unions. ECN has been able to take considerable share, building premier national platforms in manufactured housing, marine & RV and inventory finance offering credit buyers the only source for these assets in scale and across a range of products.”

Originations for the three-month period ended December 31, 2022 were $506.8 million, versus $679.5 million in the previous three-month period and $300.0 million for the same period last year. Originations for the three-month period ended December 31, 2022 include $323.2 million of originations from our Manufactured Housing Finance segment and $183.6 million of originations from our Recreational Vehicle and Marine Finance segment.

Managed Assets as at December 31, 2022 were $4.4 billion versus $4.1 billion as at September 30, 2022 and $3.1 billion at December 31, 2021.

Adjusted EBITDA for the three-month period ended December 31, 2022 was $24.6 million versus $31.4 million for the previous three-month period and $11.6 million for the same period last year.

Operating Expenses for the three-month period ended December 31, 2022 were $27.9 million versus $26.6 million for the previous three-month period and $23.3 million for the same period last year.

Net (Loss) Income attributable to common shareholders for the three-month period ended December 31, 2022 was ($7.9) million versus $6.3 million for the previous three-month period and $913.3 million for the same period last year. For the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2022 the Company reported net income of $10.9 million versus $955.0 million for the same period last year.

Conference Call

As a result of the previously announced Review of Strategic Alternatives ECN will not hold its usual conference call to review the fourth quarter and year-end 2022 results.

Dividends Declared

The Company’s Board of Directors has authorized and declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.01 per outstanding common share to be paid on April 20, 2023 to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 10, 2023. These dividends are designated to be eligible dividends for purposes of section 89(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

The Company’s Board of Directors has authorized and declared a quarterly dividend of C$0.4960625 per outstanding Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Preferred Share, Series C (TSX: ECN.PR.C) to be paid on March 31, 2023 to shareholders of record on the close of business on March 21, 2023. These dividends are designated to be eligible dividends for purposes of section 89(1) of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

Non-IFRS Measures

The Company’s audited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IASB”) and the accounting policies we adopted in accordance with IFRS.

The Company believes that certain Non-IFRS Measures can be useful to investors because they provide a means by which investors can evaluate the Company’s underlying key drivers and operating performance of the business, exclusive of certain adjustments and activities that investors may consider to be unrelated to the underlying economic performance of the business of a given period. Throughout this Press Release, management used a number of terms and ratios which do not have a standardized meaning under IFRS and are unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other organizations. A full description of these measures can be found in the Management Discussion & Analysis that accompanies the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022.

ECN Capital’s Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2022 has been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and is available under the investor section of the Company’s website (www.ecncapitalcorp.com).

About ECN Capital Corp.

With managed assets of US$4.4 billion, ECN Capital Corp. (TSX: ECN) is a leading provider of business services to North American based banks, credit unions, life insurance companies, pension funds and institutional investors (collectively our “Partners”). ECN Capital originates, manages and advises on credit assets on behalf of its Partners, specifically consumer (manufactured housing and recreational vehicle and marine) loans and commercial (inventory finance or floorplan) loans. Our Partners are seeking high quality assets to match with their deposits, term insurance or other liabilities. These services are offered through two operating segments: (i) Manufactured Housing Finance, and (ii) Recreational Vehicles and Marine Finance.

Contact

John Wimsatt
561-389-2334
jwimsatt@ecncapitalcorp.com

Forward-looking Statements

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding ECN Capital and its business. Such statements are based on the current expectations and views of future events of ECN Capital’s management. In some cases the forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “potential”, “estimate”, “believe” or the negative of these terms, or other similar expressions intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include those relating to the future financial and operating performance of ECN Capital, the strategic advantages, business plans and future opportunities of ECN Capital and the ability of ECN Capital to access adequate funding sources, identify and execute on acquisition opportunities and transition to an asset management business. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting ECN Capital, including risks regarding the equipment finance industry, economic factors, and many other factors beyond the control of ECN Capital. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. A discussion of the material risks and assumptions associated with this outlook can be found in ECN Capital’s December 31, 2022 MD&A and 2021 AIF Disclosure Document dated March 30, 2022 which have been filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements or information. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and ECN Capital does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.