Mr. Donald Yi reports

GUARDIAN CAPITAL GROUP LIMITED (TSX: GCG; GCG.A) ANNOUNCES 2023 SECOND QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS

Guardian Capital Group Ltd. has released its 2023 second quarter operating results.

The company is reporting operating earnings of $17.0-million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, a 49-per-cent increase from $11.4-million in the same quarter in the prior year. The increase in operating earnings includes over $7.0-million in interest income earned on the proceeds of disposition of Worldsource and this had the most significant impact on the growth in operating earnings. EBITDA (1) (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) and EBITDA attributable to shareholders(1) were $23.2-million and $22.3-million in the current quarter, compared with $16.2-million and $15.0-million in the comparative period.

As a reminder to the readers, with Guardian's decision to dispose of the Worldsource businesses, a financial measure net earnings from discontinued operations was introduced in a prior period. All revenues and expenses associated with that business was netting into this one line. The net earnings from the remaining businesses are presented as net earnings from continuing operations. As a result, the comparative periods have been restated to reflect this presentation format.

The company's total client assets as at June 30, 2023, were $56.5-billion, which include assets under management and assets under advisement. This is a 6-per-cent increase from $53.3-billion as at Dec. 31, 2022, and an 11-per-cent increase from $50.9-billion reported as at June 30, 2022.

Net revenue for the current quarter was $61.8-million, a 24-per-cent increase from $50.1-million in the same quarter in the prior year. Interest income of over $7-million earned on the proceeds from the sale of the Worldsource businesses was the biggest driver of the increase. Net management and advisory fee revenue increased by $3.4-million in the current quarter to $45.5-million and this is partially due to the addition of RaeLipskie, which was acquired on Sept. 1, 2022. Operating expenses were 16 per cent higher in the current quarter at $44.8-million, due to the inclusion of expenses associated with RaeLipskie, increase in interest expense due to rise in interest rates, increased marketing and travel costs, the effects of bearing certain costs, which were recovered from Worldsource in prior periods, and increased strategic investments into the company's additional anticipated growth sources for the future, including the Canadian retail asset management team, the Guardian smart infrastructure team and Guardian Partners Inc.

Net losses in the current quarter were $3.7 million, compared with net losses of $91.5-million in the same quarter in the prior year, both largely consistent with performance of the global equity markets.

Net earnings attributable to shareholders were $11.1-million in the current quarter and net loss of $69.7-million in the comparative period. The quantum of net losses in each of the periods were the greatest driver of this measure.

Adjusted cash flow from operations (1) and adjusted cash flow from operations attributable to shareholders (1) for the current quarter were $15.9-million and $15.0-million, respectively, compared with $9.7-million and $8.6-million, respectively, in the comparative period. During the current quarter, the company returned to shareholders $8.6-million in dividends and $21.8-million in share buybacks.

The company's shareholders' equity as at June 30, 2023, was $1,213-million or $47.63 per share (1), compared with $768-million or $29.43 per share (1) as at Dec. 31, 2022. The board of directors is pleased to have declared a quarterly eligible dividend of 34 cents per share, payable on Oct. 18, 2023, to shareholders of record on Oct. 11, 2023.

The company's financial results for the past eight quarters are summarized in the attached table.

Guardian is a global financial services company providing extensive investment management services to institutional, retail, and private high-net-worth and ultrahigh-net worth clients through its subsidiaries. It also manages a proprietary portfolio of securities. Founded in 1962, Guardian's reputation for steady growth, long-term relationships, and its core values of trustworthiness, integrity and stability have been key to its success over six decades. Its common and Class A shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange as GCG and GCG.A, respectively.

(1) Non-IFRS (international financial reporting standards) measures

The company's management uses EBITDA, EBITDA attributable to shareholders, including the per-share amount, adjusted cash flows from operations, adjusted cash flow from operations attributable to shareholders, including the per-share amount, shareholders' equity per share and securities per share to evaluate and assess the performance of its business. These measures do not have standardized measures under international financial reporting standards and are therefore unlikely to be comparable with similar measures presented by other companies. However, management believes that most shareholders, creditors, other stakeholders and investment analysts prefer to include the use of these measures in analyzing the company's results. The company defines EBITDA as net earnings before interest, income taxes, amortization and stock-based compensation expenses, net gains or losses, and net earnings from discontinued operations. EBITDA attributable shareholders as EBITDA less the amounts attributable to non-controlling interests. The company defines adjusted cash flow from operations as net cash from operating activities, net of changes in non-cash working capital items and cash flows from discontinued operations, and adjusted cash flow from operations attributable to shareholders as adjusted cash flow from operations less the amounts attributable to non-controlling interests. A reconciliation between these measures and the most comparable IFRS measure are provided in the attached tables.

The per-share amounts for EBITDA attributable to shareholders, adjusted cash flow from operations attributable to shareholders, shareholders' equity and securities are calculated by dividing the amounts by diluted shares, calculated in a manner similar to net earnings attributable to shareholders per share. More detailed descriptions of these non-IFRS measures are provided in the company's management's discussion and analysis, including a reconciliation of these measures to their most comparable IFRS measures.

We seek Safe Harbor.