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Grey Horse Corporation: Grey Horse Reports First Quarter 2009 Results


Published on 2009-05-12 15:45:36, Last Modified on 2009-05-12 15:47:26 - Market Wire
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TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 12, 2009) - Grey Horse Corporation (TSX:GHC) ("Grey Horse" or "the Corporation"), a Canadian financial services company serving the corporate and institutional market, reported today its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2009.

Financial Highlights (all amounts, except per-share, are in $000s unless otherwise stated)(1)



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3 months ended Mar 31
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2009 2008
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Unaudited Unaudited
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Revenue $ 3,972 $ 3,621
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Revenue Growth 10% 3%
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EBITDA $ 533 $ 602
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Net income and comprehensive income $ 210 $ 270
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Net income & comprehensive income (decline) growth (22%) (54%)
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Earnings per share, basic $ 0.03 $ 0.04
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Earnings per share, diluted $ 0.03 $ 0.04
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Diluted earnings per share (decline) growth (25%) (56%)
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Return on equity (annualized) 4% 6%
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Cash and cash equivalents at period end $10,442 $10,371
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Under continued difficult economic conditions, the results for this quarter demonstrate the increasing strength of the Corporation's brand and its ability to increase its revenue. The Corporation was able to grow its client base in its core transfer agency business and the acquisition of Toro FX Inc., in the third quarter of 2008, appears increasingly to be a successful transaction as the foreign exchange segment drove revenue growth during the quarter. Revenue increased by 10% compared with the first quarter of 2008, from $3,621 to $3,972, aided by the strong performance of the foreign exchange segment, which contributed $1,090. But revenues from the transfer agent and trust segment were nevertheless lower than in the corresponding quarter, reflecting weak capital market activity.

Net income declined 22% when compared with Q1 2008, from $270 to $210, and Basic and Diluted earnings per share decreased from 4 cents to 3 cents per share. Operating costs increased by $420 or 14% over the first quarter of 2008, entirely due to costs associated with Toro. Without Toro, whose operating expenses were $681 for the quarter, overall operating expenses would have been lower by approximately $261, partly reflecting management's focus on containing costs, and partly reflecting lower direct costs linked to lower transfer agent and trust revenues. EBITDA decreased by $69 or 11%, to $533. Annualized Return on Equity decreased from 6% to 4% during the quarter; however, over the last twelve month period, ROE has been 16%.

Grey Horse President and CEO Paul G. Smith said, "Led by the strong performance of its foreign exchange segment, Grey Horse grew its revenues during the quarter and acquired 31 net new transfer agent clients, including the largest client group in its history, all within what remain difficult markets. Management is confident about the Corporation's capabilities and future, and believes that, overall, this quarter's results justify that confidence."

The Corporation continues to focus on maintaining a systematic market approach, on increasing its visibility to potential clients and on proactively retaining its current relationships. It will also look for strategic opportunities to expand or solidify its current range of activities. But market conditions remain mixed, potentially limiting the Corporation's ability to capitalize on all of its strengths as for any other financial services entity.

Grey Horse's Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2009 can be found in the Corporation's filings on SEDAR at [ www.sedar.com ] and on the Corporation's website at [ www.greyhorsecorp.com ].

Quarterly Conference Call

Grey Horse will hold a conference call on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 9AM Eastern Daylight Time to discuss its first quarter operating results and answer questions. Participants can dial 416-641-6121 or toll free 866-300-7687.

About Grey Horse

Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Grey Horse provides transfer agent, corporate trust, corporate secretary, foreign exchange and limited market dealer services to corporations in North American capital markets. Learn more at [ www.greyhorsecorp.com ].

Certain information included in press releases may be forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. The results or events predicted in such statements may differ materially from actual results or events. Factors that might cause a difference include, but are not limited to, competitive developments, risks associated with Grey Horse's growth, the state of the financial markets, frequency of large volume transactions, regulatory risks and other factors. If and when forward-looking information is set out in this press release, Grey Horse will also set out the material risk factors or assumptions used to develop the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information will be updated as required pursuant to the requirements of National Instrument 51-102. More detailed information about potential factors that could affect Grey Horse's financial and business results is included in public documents Grey Horse files from time to time with Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

(1) The following unaudited information was determined in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, except for EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization and, for 2008, the loss on disposal of assets incurred during the first quarter) and Return on Equity (Net income divided by the average of opening and closing shareholders' equity), which do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by Canadian GAAP and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. However, the Corporation believes that these are viewed by financial analysts and investors as key measures of certain aspects of its performance. They should not be considered as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities nor to any other measures of performance presented in accordance with Canadian GAAP.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.


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