Mr. Nick Goodman reports

BROOKFIELD CORPORATION REPORTS STRONG 2023 RESULTS

Brookfield Corp. has released strong financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2023.

Nick Goodman, president of Brookfield, said: "Our business had another excellent year in 2023 and we delivered strong financial results. Our asset management business saw very strong fundraising momentum, our insurance solutions business had a transformational year and our operating businesses continued to demonstrate their resilience. These, combined with our access to multiple sources of capital, enabled us to execute a number of value acquisitions during the year."

He added: "We repurchased over $600-million of shares in 2023 and expect to acquire at least a further $1-billion this year, adding value to all remaining shares. With significant growth levers embedded in the business, we are well positioned to continue to deliver strong financial results going forward and to achieve our targeted 15-plus-per-cent per-share returns for our shareholders over the long term."

Operating results

Distributable earnings (DE) before realizations increased by 17 per cent and 12 per cent per share compared with the prior periods, after adjusting for the special distribution of 25 per cent of Brookfield's asset management business in December, 2022.

Each of Brookfield's businesses delivered strong financial results during the year, amidst a challenging market backdrop. Net income was $5.1-billion for the year, and DE before realizations was $1.2-billion for the quarter and $4.2-billion for the year.

Brookfield's asset management business benefited from continued fundraising momentum and strong capital deployment across Brookfield's flagship funds and complementary fund offerings, driving an increase in DE of 7 per cent compared with the prior year.

In Brookfield's insurance solutions business, it continued to scale its asset base and leverage its investment capabilities to drive earnings growth.

Brookfield's operating businesses generated stable and growing cash distributions, underpinned by the resilient earnings across Brookfield's renewable power and transition, infrastructure, and private equity businesses, as well as 7-per-cent growth in same-store net operating income (NOI) within Brookfield's core real estate.

During the quarter and for the year, earnings from realizations were $103-million and $583-million, respectively, with total DE for the quarter and for the year of $1.3-billion and $4.8-billion, respectively.

Regular dividend declaration

The board declared a 14 per cent increase in the quarterly dividend for Brookfield to eight cents per share (representing 32 cents per annum), payable on March 28, 2024, to shareholders of record as at the close of business on March 13, 2024. The board also declared the regular monthly and quarterly dividends on Brookfield's preferred shares.

Operating highlights

DE before realizations was $1.2-billion (76 cents/share) for the quarter and $4.2-billion ($2.66/share) for the year, representing an increase of 17 per cent and 12 per cent per share over the prior periods, respectively, after adjusting for the special distribution of 25 per cent of Brookfield's asset management business. Total DE was $1.3-billion (83 cents/share) for the quarter and $4.8-billion ($3.03/share) for the year.

Asset management:

• Distributable earnings were $649-million (41 cents/share) in the quarter and $2.6-billion ($1.61/share) for the year.
• Brookfield's private fund strategies continue to attract strong interest from its clients, leading to $93-billion of capital raised which, combined with the approximately $50-billion anticipated upon the closing of American Equity Life (AEL), brings the total to $143-billion. Fee-bearing capital was $457-billion as of Dec. 31, 2023, an increase of $39-billion or 9 per cent over the prior year, and will shortly be over $500-billion with the closing of AEL.
• Fee-related earnings increased by 6 per cent compared with the prior year.
• Brookfield's fundraising outlook remains strong heading into 2024, which should contribute to meaningful earnings growth.

Insurance solutions:

• Distributable operating earnings were $253-million (16 cents/share) in the quarter and $740-million (47 cents/share) for the year.
• Brookfield's insurance assets increased to approximately $60-billion, with the close of Argo Group and the origination of new annuity policies. The company's average investment portfolio yield on its insurance assets was 5.5 per cent, approximately 2 per cent higher than the average cost of capital.
• As at the end of 2023, annualized earnings in this business were $940-million. With the closing of AEL expected shortly, Brookfield's insurance solutions business will grow to over $100-billion of assets and $1.3-billion of annualized earnings.
• Through Brookfield's retail wealth and insurance solutions platforms, it remains on track to reach $1.5-billion of monthly retail capital inflows in 2024.

Operating businesses:

• Distributable earnings were $400-million (25 cents/share) in the quarter and $1.5-billion (92 cents/share) for the year.
• Operating funds from operations within Brookfield's renewable power and transition and infrastructure businesses increased by 7 per cent over the year, supporting stable cash distributions. Brookfield's private equity business continues to deliver strong earnings growth, with adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) up by 11 per cent, benefiting from the essential nature of the services they provide.
• In Brookfield's real estate business, its core portfolio produced same-store NOI growth of 7 per cent compared with the prior year. The company continues to capture tenant demand with over 15 million square feet of leases executed in the year across all its office assets, and tenant sales per square foot were 21 per cent higher than 2019 in its core retail portfolio.

Earnings from the monetization of mature assets were $103-million (seven cents/share) for the quarter and $583-million (37 cents/share) for the year:

• During the year, Brookfield monetized over $30-billion of assets -- substantially all transacting at values higher than its IFRS (international financial reporting standards) carrying values, validating the carrying values of its investments.
• Brookfield recognized $570-million of net realized carried interest into income during the year, and with the pool of carry-eligible capital growing larger every year, it expects significant cash flows going forward.
• Total accumulated unrealized carried interest now stands at $10.2-billion, representing an increase of 11 per cent over the year, net of carried interest realized into income.

Brookfield ended the quarter with $122-billion of capital available to deploy into new investments:

• Over the year, the company returned $1.1-billion to shareholders through regular dividends and share repurchases, with total share buybacks of over $600-million.
• Brookfield has $122-billion of deployable capital, which includes $38-billion of cash, financial assets and undrawn credit lines at the corporation and its affiliates.
• Brookfield's balance sheet remains conservatively capitalized, with a weighted-average term of 13 years and modest maturities through to the end of 2025.
• The company continues to have strong access to the capital markets. In December, it received a credit rating upgrade from DBRS on its senior unsecured debt to A, reflecting the strength of its franchise and continued growth in its earnings.

Additional information

The letter to shareholders and the company's supplemental information for the three months and year ended Dec. 31, 2023, contain further information on the company's strategy, operations and financial results. Shareholders are encouraged to read these documents, which are available on the company's website.

The statements contained herein are based primarily on information that has been extracted from Brookfield's financial statements for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2023, which have been prepared using IFRS, as issued by the IASB (International Accounting Standards Board). The amounts have not been audited by Brookfield's external auditor.

Brookfield's board of directors has reviewed and approved this document, including the summarized unaudited consolidated financial statements prior to its release.

Information on Brookfield's dividends can be found on its website under stock and distributions/distribution history.

Quarterly earnings call details

Investors, analysts and other interested parties can access Brookfield's 2023 fourth quarter results as well as the shareholders' letter and supplemental information on Brookfield's website under the reports and filings section.

To participate in the conference call today at 10 a.m. EST, please preregister on-line. Upon registering, you will be e-mailed a dial-in number and unique PIN. The conference call will also be webcast live on-line. For those unable to participate in the conference call, the telephone replay will be archived and available until Feb. 8, 2025.

About Brookfield Corp.

Brookfield is a premier global wealth manager for institutions and individuals around the world. With one of the largest pools of discretionary capital globally, it invests in real assets that form the backbone of the global economy to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns to its stakeholders. It does this three ways: directly with its $150-billion of capital, through Brookfield Asset Management, one of the leading global alternative asset managers with over $900-billion of assets under management, and through its insurance solutions business which today has $60-billion of assets. Over the long term, Brookfield is focused on delivering 15-plus-per-cent annualized returns to its shareholders. Brookfield is publicly traded in New York and Toronto.

Please note that Brookfield's previous audited annual and unaudited quarterly reports have been filed on EDGAR and SEDAR+ and can also be found in the investor section of its website. Hard copies of the annual and quarterly reports can be obtained free of charge upon request.

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