Pinetree Capital Ltd. Announces Unaudited Financial Results For The Three And Nine Months Ended September 30, 2008
November 14, 2008
During the third quarter, Pinetree generated a net loss of $210.9 million, as compared to a net loss of $92.3 million in the same quarter last year. The net loss was primarily due to net investment losses of $256.2 million in the quarter, comprised of realized gains on dispositions of investments of $5.2 million, unrealized losses on investments of $257.6 million and losses from equity accounted investments of $3.8 million. The unrealized losses on investments includes a write-down of $24.5 million, representing 50% of the fair value of the Company’s portfolio of privately-held investments, in order to reflect general market conditions. Loss per share was $1.63 as compared to a loss per share of $0.93 in the three months ended September 30, 2007.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2008, Pinetree generated a net loss of $262.5 million, as compared to a net loss of $89.4 million in the same period last year. The net loss was primarily due to net investment losses of $324.4 million in the period, comprised of realized losses on dispositions of investments of $1.6 million, unrealized losses on investments of $318.8 million and loss from equity accounted investments of $4.0 million. The unrealized losses on investments includes the write-down of privately-held investments as described above. Loss per common share was $2.21 as compared to a loss per share of $0.96 in the nine months ended September 30, 2007.
The composition of Pinetree’s investment portfolio (accounted for at fair value) by sector as at September 30, 2008, as compared to the end of the prior quarter and last year end is outlined in the following table:
September 30, 2008 |
June 30, 2008 |
December 31, 2007 | ||||
Sector |
($’000) |
% of Total |
($’000) |
% of Total |
($’000) |
% of Total |
Resources: |
||||||
Precious Metals |
75,716 |
32.4 |
157,129 |
32.0 |
240,479 |
40.6 |
Uranium |
44,276 |
18.9 |
108,610 |
22.1 |
118,384 |
20.0 |
Base Metals |
44,069 |
18.8 |
92,422 |
18.8 |
72,874 |
12.3 |
Oil & Gas |
18,988 |
8.1 |
38,204 |
7.8 |
45,543 |
7.7 |
Molybdenum |
18,171 |
7.8 |
28,400 |
5.8 |
50,506 |
8.5 |
Potash and Rare Earths |
5,410 |
2.3 |
19,203 |
3.9 |
17,052 |
2.9 |
Total Resources |
206,630 |
88.3 |
443,968 |
90.4 |
544,838 |
92.0 |
Technology/Other |
15,394 |
6.6 |
28,064 |
5.7 |
23,805 |
4.0 |
Biotechnology |
7,416 |
3.2 |
11,519 |
2.2 |
11,400 |
2.0 |
Energy Related Technology |
4,547 |
1.9 |
8,161 |
1.7 |
11,996 |
2.0 |
As at September 30, 2008, total investments at fair value stood at $234.0 million as compared to $592.0 million as at December 31, 2007. The number of investments decreased to 427 from 487 at the end of the last year. Of the 427 investments, 371 or 86.9% (December 31, 2007 – 88.7%), were in the resource sector, reflecting Pinetree’s continued focus on resources.
Net asset value per share decreased to $2.02 as at September 30, 2008 from $4.20 as at December 31, 2007.
“Adverse market conditions during 2008 have had a significant and prolonged impact on market participants in virtually all sectors”, said
About Pinetree
Pinetree Capital Ltd. ("Pinetree") was incorporated under the laws of the
For more details about Pinetree and its investments, please visit our website at www.pinetreecapital.com
Use of Non-GAAP Measures
“Net asset value per share” is a non-GAAP measure defined as shareholders’ equity divided by the total number of common shares of Pinetree outstanding. The term net asset value per share does not have any standardized meaning according to GAAP and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. We believe that the measure provides information useful to our shareholders in understanding our performance, facilitates the comparison of the quarterly and year-end results of our ongoing operations and provides a meaningful measure to evaluate our business relative to that of our peers.
Investor Relations:
Larry Goldberg,
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Pinetree Capital Ltd.
130 King Street West, Suite 2500
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5X 1A9
Phone: 416-941-9600
Email:
Web Site: www.pinetreecapital.com