Sprott Inc (SII) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to Sprott Inc.'s 2024 second-quarter results conference call. (Operator Instructions)

早安，女士們先生們，感謝你們的支持。歡迎參加 Sprott Inc. 2024 年第二季業績電話會議。（操作員說明）

As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, August 7, 2024. On behalf of the speakers that follow, listeners are cautioned that today's presentation and the responses to questions may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provision of the Canadian provincial securities laws.

謹此提醒，本次會議於今日（2024 年 8 月 7 日）錄製。我代表隨後的發言者提醒聽眾，今天的演講和對問題的回答可能包含加拿大省級證券法安全港條款含義內的前瞻性陳述。

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and (technical difficulty) not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors are assumptions are implied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.

前瞻性陳述涉及風險和不確定性，並且（技術困難）不應放在此類陳述中。某些重大因素是前瞻性陳述中隱含的假設，實際結果可能與此類陳述中明示或暗示的結果有重大差異。

For additional information about factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations and about material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking statements. Please consult the MD&A for the quarter of Sprott's other filings in the Canadian and US security regulators.

有關可能導致實際結果與預期存在重大差異的因素以及有關做出前瞻性陳述時所採用的重大因素或假設的更多資訊。請查閱 MD&A，以了解 Sprott 本季向加拿大和美國安全監管機構提交的其他文件。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Mr. Whitney George. Please go ahead, sir.

現在我想把會議交給惠特尼·喬治先生。請繼續，先生。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone, and thanks for joining us today. On the call with me today is our CFO, Kevin Hibbert; and John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management. Our 2024 second-quarter results were released this morning and are available on our website, where you can also find the financial statements and MD&A.

謝謝大家，早安，謝謝您今天加入我們。今天與我通話的是我們的財務長凱文希伯特 (Kevin Hibbert)；以及 Sprott 資產管理公司執行長 John Ciampaglia。我們的 2024 年第二季業績已於今天上午發布，可在我們的網站上查看，您也可以在其中找到財務報表和 MD&A。

I'll start on Slide 4. Before I get into our results for the quarter, I'd like to comment briefly on the recent turmoil in the markets and the world at large. Sadly, two wars continue with no feasible [end in sight]. I mean US election has been turned on its head by the recent assassination attempt on former President Trump, as well as President Biden's decision not to seek reelection.

我將從幻燈片 4 開始。在介紹本季業績之前，我想先簡單評論一下最近市場和整個世界的動盪。可悲的是，兩場戰爭仍在繼續，沒有可行的辦法[終點就在眼前]。我的意思是，美國大選因最近對前總統川普的暗殺企圖以及拜登總統決定不尋求連任而發生了翻天覆地的變化。

Globally, recent election results reflect a general dissatisfaction with the incumbents. On top of this, financial markets have experienced (inaudible) volatility, resulting primarily from the sudden unwinding of the yen carry trade as well as about a weak economic data in the United States.

在全球範圍內，最近的選舉結果反映出人們對現任者的普遍不滿。除此之外，金融市場經歷了（聽不清楚）波動，這主要是由於日圓套利交易突然平倉以及美國疲軟的經濟數據造成的。

At Sprott, we do our best not to be distracted by the noise. We're focused on the key long-term drivers of our business which are fundamentally unchanged. Our focus on precious metals and critical material investments we believe are very well positioned for the current market environment.

在 Sprott，我們盡力不被噪音分散注意力。我們專注於業務的關鍵長期驅動因素，這些因素基本上沒有改變。我們認為，我們對貴金屬和關鍵材料投資的關注非常適合當前的市場環境。

Turning now to our results. I am pleased to report that our assets under management increased by $1.7 billion to $31.1 billion, which is another record high for Sprott. Subsequent to the quarter end, we added an additional $400 million in assets, reaching $31.5 million as of August 1 in 2024. However, this number has moved around a bit over the last few days due to the recent volatility across all asset classes.

現在轉向我們的結果。我很高興地報告，我們管理的資產增加了 17 億美元，達到 311 億美元，這是 Sprott 的另一個歷史新高。季度末後，我們額外增加了 4 億美元的資產，截至 2024 年 8 月 1 日達到 3,150 萬美元。然而，由於最近所有資產類別的波動，這個數字在過去幾天裡略有變動。

Gold and Silver performed well in the first half of 2024. Gold recently reached a new record high of $2,184 before retreating back to around $2,400 on some profit taking. Silver achieved its highest quarterly close since the third quarter of 2012 at $2,914, buoyed by gold's move, global monetary expansion policies and demand from the photovoltaic (inaudible).

黃金和白銀在2024年上半年表現良好。金價最近觸及 2,184 美元的新紀錄高點，隨後因一些獲利回吐而回落至 2,400 美元左右。受金價走勢、全球貨幣擴張政策和光伏需求的提振，白銀創下 2012 年第三季以來最高季度收盤價 2,914 美元（聽不清楚）。

We continue to note the series of new highs set in 2024 have been driven by central bank purchases and achieved with limited general investor participation in the precious metals sector. We continue to build out our Critical Material quarter with the IPO of the Sprott Physical Copper Trust, which is the world's first physical copper fund. Launching the Copper Trust was a strategic priority for Sprott and the latest addition to our critical materials investment strategies. John will talk more about that and the launch and future plans in a few minutes.

我們繼續注意到，2024 年創下的一系列新高是由央行購買推動的，並且是在一般投資者對貴金屬行業的參與有限的情況下實現的。透過 Sprott 實物銅信託基金（全球首支實物銅基金）的首次公開募股，我們繼續打造我們的關鍵材料季度。推出銅信託是 Sprott 的策略重點，也是我們關鍵材料投資策略的最新補充。約翰將在幾分鐘內詳細討論這一點以及發布和未來計劃。

After reporting net redemptions in the first quarter for the first time in more than four years, we returned to net sales in Q2. During the quarter, we generated $357 million in net sales, plus an additional $110 million in flows from the Copper Trust IPO.

在四年多來首次報告第一季淨贖回後，我們在第二季恢復了淨銷售額。本季度，我們實現了 3.57 億美元的淨銷售額，另外還有來自 Copper Trust IPO 的 1.1 億美元資金流。

With that, I'll pass it over to Kevin for a look at our financial results. Kevin?

這樣，我會將其轉交給凱文，讓他查看我們的財務表現。凱文？

Thanks, Whitney, and good morning, everyone. I'll start on Slide 5, which provides a summary of our historical AUM. As Whitney noted, AUM finished the quarter at $31.1 billion, which was up 6% from $29.4 billion last quarter, and up 8% from $28.7 billion at the end of last year. On a three and six months ended basis, we benefited from market value appreciation in our precious metal's physical trusts, net inflows across our exchange-listed products mix and the launch of the Physical Copper Trust in the quarter.

謝謝惠特尼，大家早安。我將從幻燈片 5 開始，它提供了我們歷史 AUM 的摘要。正如 Whitney 指出的那樣，本季 AUM 達到 311 億美元，比上季的 294 億美元成長 6%，比去年年底的 287 億美元成長 8%。截至三個月和六個月的基礎上，我們受益於貴金屬實物信託的市場價值升值、交易所上市產品組合的淨流入以及本季度實物銅信託的推出。

Over the last five years, our AUM has grown by $21.8 billion, of which 49% was attributable to net inflows, 37% was related to market value appreciation and 14% was related to acquisitions and new fund launches, demonstrating the quality and resolve of our asset base and related earnings.

過去五年，我們的資產管理規模增長了 218 億美元，其中 49% 與淨流入有關，37% 與市值升值有關，14% 與收購和新基金發行有關，這證明了我們的質量和決心。的資產基礎和相關收益。

Subsequent to quarter end, on August 1, our AUM increased 2% to $31.5 billion. Slide 6 provides a brief look at our three- and six-month earnings. Last year, our net income benefited from the realization of an $18.6 million nonrecurring asset. Consequently, our net income this quarter of $13.4 million was down 25% from $17.7 million for the three months ended last year.

8 月 1 日季末，我們的資產管理規模成長了 2%，達到 315 億美元。投影片 6 簡要介紹了我們三個月和六個月的收益。去年，我們的淨利潤受益於 1,860 萬美元非經常性資產的變現。因此，我們本季的淨利潤為 1,340 萬美元，比去年截至三個月的 1,770 萬美元下降了 25%。

On a year-to-date basis, net income was $24.9 million, down 2% from $25.4 million last year. Excluding the impact of last year's realization of a nonrecurring asset, our three months ended net income was actually up $14.2 million from the same three-month period last year and our six months ended net income was up $18.1 million from the same six-month period last year.

年初至今，淨利為 2,490 萬美元，比去年的 2,540 萬美元下降 2%。排除去年實現非經常性資產的影響，我們的三個月期末淨利潤實際上比去年同期三個月增加了 1,420 萬美元，六個月期末淨利潤比去年同期增加了 1,810 萬美元去年。

Adjusted base EBITDA was $22.4 million in the quarter, up 25% from $18 million earned over the same three-month period last year and was $42.1 million on a six months ended basis, up 19% and from $35.3 million earned over the same six-month period last year. Our three and six months ended results benefited from higher management fees on improved market valuations in our precious metals exchange-listed products, higher commission income on increased ATM activity in our Critical Materials exchange-listed products and higher finance income in our Private strategy segment due to higher streaming syndication fees.

本季調整後的基本EBITDA 為2,240 萬美元，比去年同期的1,800 萬美元成長25%；截至六個月的基礎上調整後的基本EBITDA 為4,210 萬美元，比去年同期的3,530 萬美元成長19% 。我們三個月和六個月的最終業績受益於貴金屬交易所上市產品市場估值改善帶來的管理費上漲、關鍵材料交易所上市產品ATM 活動增加帶來的佣金收入增加以及私人策略部門財務收入的增加。

Finally, Slide 7 provides a few treasury and balance sheet management highlights. And as you can see, our cash and liquidity profile continues to strengthen quarter-over-quarter, our leverage remains low, and we will be even lower in the second half of the year as we expect to pay down more debt. For more information on our revenues, expenses, EBITDA and balance sheet metrics, you can refer to the supplemental information section of this presentation as well as our quarterly MD&A and financial statements filed earlier this morning.

最後，投影片 7 提供了一些財務和資產負債表管理亮點。正如您所看到的，我們的現金和流動性狀況繼續逐季增強，我們的槓桿率仍然很低，而且由於我們預計將償還更多債務，今年下半年我們的槓桿率甚至會更低。有關我們的收入、費用、EBITDA 和資產負債表指標的更多信息，您可以參閱本簡報的補充資訊部分以及我們今天早上提交的季度 MD&A 和財務報表。

With that said, I'll pass things over to John.

話雖如此，我會把事情交給約翰。

Thanks, Kevin, and good morning, everybody. We enjoyed a very strong rebound in sales in Q2, as Whitney mentioned. And the positive momentum has continued since the end of the quarter. We did feel as though March marked the bottom for our business where there was a low in sentiment across a number of metals markets and I'm pleased to report we've realized the expected rebound that we were anticipating.

謝謝，凱文，大家早安。正如惠特尼所提到的，我們在第二季的銷售額出現了非常強勁的反彈。自本季末以來，積極勢頭一直持續。我們確實覺得三月標誌著我們業務的底部，許多金屬市場的情緒低迷，我很高興地報告，我們已經實現了我們預期的反彈。

After a period of indifference, investor interest in precious metals is slowly returning. This is very positive for our business, given gold is already sitting at $2,400, largely with institutional investors in the West not participating, central bank buying of gold coupled with concerns about a number of potential portfolio risks is generating renewed interest, while copper is well positioned to benefit from the growing long-term demand for electricity and copper-intensive clean energy technologies.

經過一段時間的冷漠之後，投資者對貴金屬的興趣正慢慢回歸。這對我們的業務非常有利，因為金價已經達到 2,400 美元，主要是西方機構投資者沒有參與，央行購買黃金，加上對一些潛在投資組合風險的擔憂，正在重新產生興趣，而銅則表現良好。受惠於對電力和銅密集型清潔能源技術不斷增長的長期需求。

Let's go to the next slide. AUM growth has been strong year-to-date, up $2.6 billion with assets reaching an all-time high during the quarter. And over the last six quarters, our AUM in this segment has increased approximately 30%, which is really great considering many markets have been somewhat range bound.

讓我們看下一張投影片。今年迄今為止，資產管理規模成長強勁，成長了 26 億美元，本季資產創歷史新高。在過去的六個季度中，我們在該領域的資產管理規模增長了約 30%，考慮到許多市場都在一定程度上受到限制，這確實很棒。

On June 6, we welcomed our newest physical metal trust to our lineup with the Copper Trust. We're very excited about adding another metal given the compelling long-term fundamentals for copper. We spent the last few years building out our product suite both organically and via acquisitions to diversify and competitively position ourselves in market segments that we believe are entering new bull markets. This diversification strategy has been very effective as metal markets do not always move in sync, allowing us to capture new assets when investor interest appears.

6 月 6 日，我們迎來了最新的實體金屬信託基金——銅信託。鑑於銅具有令人信服的長期基本面，我們對添加另一種金屬感到非常興奮。在過去的幾年裡，我們透過有機方式和收購來建立我們的產品套件，以實現多元化並在我們認為正在進入新牛市的細分市場中佔據競爭地位。這種多元化策略非常有效，因為金屬市場並不總是同步變化，這使我們能夠在投資者出現興趣時捕捉新資產。

Next slide, please. Shifting over to our equity-based ETFs, we enjoyed a strong recovery in sales for the quarter after a soft Q1. Our Uranium Mining ETFs led the pack for the quarter. In this category, we now have over 10 funds across various metal segments and listing locations and assets continue to scale for many of the newer funds as we achieve platform approvals and achieve breakeven AUM levels.

請下一張投影片。轉向我們的股票 ETF，在經歷第一季的疲軟之後，我們本季的銷售強勁復甦。我們的鈾礦 ETF 本季表現領先。在這一類別中，我們現在擁有 10 多種基金，涵蓋各個金屬領域和上市地點，隨著我們獲得平台批准並實現盈虧平衡的資產管理規模水平，許多新基金的資產繼續擴大。

Next slide, please. We're very pleased with how the product suite is scaling. AUM has also reached an all-time high in the quarter and has essentially doubled over the last six quarters. Mining Equity ETFs are popular choices for both institutional, adviser and individual investors as many prefer to invest in a thematic through a basket of stocks. Many of the ETFs, we offer track indices that Sprott has codeveloped with index providers such as NASDAQ that integrate our knowledge and experience as long-time investors in metals and mining.

請下一張投影片。我們對產品套件的擴展方式感到非常滿意。資產管理規模在本季度也達到了歷史新高，並且在過去六個季度中基本上翻了一番。礦業股票 ETF 是機構、顧問和個人投資者的熱門選擇，因為許多人更喜歡透過一籃子股票投資某個主題。對於許多 ETF，我們提供 Sprott 與納斯達克等指數提供者共同開發的追蹤指數，這些指數整合了我們作為金屬和礦業長期投資者的知識和經驗。

This allows us to provide differentiated offerings that represent more pure-play options in the marketplace.

這使我們能夠提供差異化的產品，代表市場上更多的純業務選擇。

Next slide, please. As I mentioned earlier, we're very pleased with the successful completion of the Sprott Physical Copper Trust IPO. The market environment for IPOs remains very challenging with COP representing the first IPO on the Toronto Stock Exchange since March 2023. Gross proceeds raised were $110 million with 80% of the assets coming from institutions. Of the institutional participation, approximately 80% were existing investors and other Sprott funds and/or holders of Sprott Inc.

請下一張投影片。正如我之前提到的，我們對 Sprott 實物銅信託 IPO 的成功完成感到非常高興。IPO 的市場環境仍然非常具有挑戰性，COP 是多倫多證券交易所自 2023 年 3 月以來的首次 IPO。募集資金總額為 1.1 億美元，其中 80% 的資產來自機構。在參與機構中，約 80% 是現有投資者和其他 Sprott 基金和/或 Sprott Inc. 的持有者。

stock and we'd like to thank these institutions for their continued support in helping us get this IPO off the ground.

我們要感謝這些機構的持續支持，幫助我們啟動本次 IPO。

We're very excited about the long-term growth potential of the Copper Trust given the size of the market and the broader appeal of copper amongst generalist investors. We've been talking to investors for three years now about uranium. And I would say that 80% of the time, there's also dual interest in copper as well. We've recently implemented an aftermarket program to raise additional capital and our plan is to ramp up marketing and investor outreach over the coming months.

考慮到市場的規模以及銅對普通投資者的廣泛吸引力，我們對銅信託的長期成長潛力感到非常興奮。我們已經與投資者談論鈾問題三年了。我想說的是，80% 的情況下，人們對銅也有雙重興趣。我們最近實施了一項售後計劃來籌集額外資金，我們的計劃是在未來幾個月內加強行銷和投資者推廣。

And with that, I will pass it over to Whitney

有了這個，我會把它交給惠特尼

Thanks, John. Well, I'll turn to Slide 13 now, managed equities. While gold and silver enjoyed a strong first half of the year, the mining equities have stubbornly lagged the metals themselves. Investor sentiment towards the miners is at historically low levels and a small rotation out of tech stocks into precious metals equities would have a profoundly positive impact on the sector.

謝謝，約翰。好吧，我現在轉向投影片 13，管理股票。儘管黃金和白銀今年上半年表現強勁，但礦業股卻頑固地落後於金屬本身。投資者對礦業公司的情緒處於歷史低點，從科技股轉向貴金屬股票的小幅轉向將對該行業產生深遠的正面影響。

Despite the lack of investor interest, we are pleased with the strong performance of our precious metals equity strategies in the first half of 2024. Our flagship Gold Equity Fund is up approximately 20% as of August 1, and its performance has been steadily improving relative to its peer group.

儘管投資者缺乏興趣，但我們對貴金屬股票策略在 2024 年上半年的強勁表現感到滿意。截至 8 月 1 日，我們的旗艦黃金股票基金上漲了約 20%，其業績相對於同業一直在穩步改善。

I'll turn now to Slide 14 for a look at our private strategies. Combined lending and streaming strategies, AUM was $2.5 billion as of June 30, 2024. The team is continuing to monitor and harvest investments in our second private lending fund and is actively assessing new investment opportunities in our Lending Fund III. We are also pleased with the early investor response to our active physical commodity strategy, which was launched late last year.

我現在將轉向幻燈片 14 來了解我們的私人策略。截至 2024 年 6 月 30 日，綜合貸款與串流媒體策略，資產管理規模為 25 億美元。團隊正在繼續監控和收穫我們第二個私募借貸基金的投資，並積極評估我們借貸基金 III 的新投資機會。我們也對投資者對我們去年底推出的積極實體商品策略的早期反應感到高興。

Slide 15. I'll move now to Slide 15 for closing remarks. Despite the recent volatility in the markets, little has changed from our outlook that we presented at the start of 2024. As expected, inflation remained a bit stickier than most had hoped for the first half of the year. While many countries have begun to cut interest rates, the US short-term rates are unchanged, although expectations have fluctuated wildly over the last six months.

幻燈片 15。現在我將轉到投影片 15 作結束語。儘管近期市場波動較大，但我們對 2024 年初提出的展望幾乎沒有改變。正如預期的那樣，今年上半年的通膨仍然比大多數人的預期要高一些。雖然許多國家已經開始降息，但美國短期利率並沒有變化，儘管過去六個月的預期波動很大。

Once again, the Fed appears to be behind the curve and is only now edging towards a September cut. Fiscal deficits continue to grow to new non-recessionary records as a percentage of US GDP. And as noted at the start of the call, wars and elections are creating geopolitical uncertainty. Fortunately, gold prices have responded favorably to these difficult fundamentals, setting several new highs before settling closer to the $2,400 mark, at least for the time being.

聯準會似乎再次落後於局勢，目前才剛接近 9 月的降息。財政赤字占美國國內生產毛額的百分比繼續增長至新的非衰退記錄。正如電話會議一開始所指出的，戰爭和選舉正在造成地緣政治的不確定性。幸運的是，金價對這些困難的基本面做出了積極的反應，創下了幾個新高，然後至少暫時接近 2,400 美元大關。

We're pleased with our performance in the first half of 2024. AUM is near record highs. We delivered positive net sales in the first [half of the year], results are steadily improving. Despite some recent weakness in uranium and copper prices, which we expect to be short lived, our critical materials strategy are capturing market share in a rapidly growing category. We appreciate the continued support of our clients and shareholders and feel confident their trust will be rewarded in the quarters and years ahead.

我們對 2024 年上半年的表現感到滿意。資產管理規模接近歷史新高。我們在上半年實現了正淨銷售額，業績正在穩步改善。儘管最近鈾和銅價格出現一些疲軟（我們預計這種情況將是短暫的），但我們的關鍵材料策略正在快速增長的類別中奪取市場份額。我們感謝客戶和股東的持續支持，並相信他們的信任將在未來幾季和幾年內得到回報。

That would conclude our remarks for today's call. I'll now turn it over to the operator for some Q&A. Operator?

我們今天的電話會議的發言就到此結束。我現在將其轉交給接線員進行一些問答。操作員？

(Operator Instructions) Mike Kozak, Cantor Fitzgerald.

（操作員說明）Mike Kozak、Cantor Fitzgerald。

Yes, good morning, everybody. Thank you. Thanks for taking the questions and congrats on a great quarter. Just one question from me on the Uranium Trust. Other than the ATM, what other levers could you potentially pull to keep the cash position up in that trust. I mean you've done location swaps in the past I believe. Could these be ramped up in any way? And if you needed to, are there any other alternative methods to raise in cash in the Uranium Trust specifically?

是的，大家早安。謝謝。感謝您提出問題，並祝賀您度過了一個美好的季度。我只想問一個關於鈾信託基金的問題。除了 ATM 之外，您還可以使用哪些其他槓桿來保持該信託中的現金部位。我的意思是，我相信你過去已經進行過位置交換。這些可以以任何方式加強嗎？如果您需要的話，是否還有其他替代方法可以專門在鈾信託基金中籌集現金？

Yes. Hi, Mike, it's John. That's an interesting question. So obviously, the ATM is the primary way to issue new units and receive cash. As you mentioned, we've done a number of location and origin swaps over the last three years, which have been very beneficial in terms of generating additional income.

是的。嗨，麥克，我是約翰。這是一個有趣的問題。顯然，ATM 機是發行新單位和接收現金的主要方式。正如您所提到的，我們在過去三年中進行了多次地點和原產地交換，這對於產生額外收入非常有益。

And the last resort, if those two things don't work out, is we physically would sell a small portion of uranium, which we've not had to do in three years.

如果這兩件事都不奏效，最後的辦法就是我們實際上出售一小部分鈾，而我們已經三年沒有這樣做了。

So we prudently manage the cash so that we don't have to let go of any raw material. And right now, we're holding, I think, a sufficient cash balance to cover expenses of running the trust for the next two months. So it's not anything of near-term concern.

所以我們謹慎地管理現金，這樣我們就不必放棄任何原料。我認為，目前我們持有足夠的現金餘額來支付未來兩個月的信託營運費用。所以這不是近期值得關注的事。

Got it. Very good. That's helpful. I'll turn it back.

知道了。非常好。這很有幫助。我會把它轉回來。

(Operator Instructions) I'm showing no further questions in the queue. I would now like to turn the call back over to Whitney for closing remarks.

（操作員說明）我在隊列中沒有顯示任何其他問題。我現在想將電話轉回給惠特尼，讓其致閉幕詞。

Thank you, everyone, for participating on this call, particularly on a very quiet August summer day. We appreciate your interest in Sprott and look forward to speaking to you again after our third-quarter results. Thanks again and that concludes our (technical difficulty)

感謝大家參加這次電話會議，特別是在一個非常安靜的八月夏天。我們感謝您對 Sprott 的興趣，並期待在我們第三季業績公佈後再次與您交談。再次感謝，我們的工作到此結束（技術難度）

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。