Elysee Earns $543,403 ($0.025 per share) During the Six Months Ended May 31, 2017
During the six months ended May 31, 2017 ("the current period"), Elysee had net earnings of $543,403 as compared with net earnings of $3,176,936 for the six months ended May 31, 2017 ("the prior period"). The earnings for the current period were primarily the result of realized gains on marketable securities of $814,670, unrealized losses on marketable securities of $104,382 and interest and dividend income of $52,006. Earnings during the prior period were the result of realized gains of $886,960, unrealized gains of $2,393,496, an unrealized foreign exchange gain of $19,562 and interest and dividend income of $76,718. As a result of the foregoing, Elysee earned $0.025 per share for the six months ended May 31, 2017 as compared to earnings per share of $0.153 during the prior period.
During the second quarter of fiscal 2017, some junior gold miners experienced selling pressure due to a re-allocation of assets at a major gold mining ETF (GDXJ). Elysee was able to take advantage of this situation by selling some of our holdings that weren't affected by this action and by buying quality companies that had been sold off as a result. In that regard, we reduced our positions in Rye Patch Gold, Ivanhoe Mines, Nulegacy Gold, Strategic Metals, Osisko Mining and Falco Resources. On the other hand, we increased our positions in Teranga Gold, Wesdome Gold Mines, Kirkland Lake Gold and Compania de Minas Buenaventura.
As at May 31, 2017, the fair value of the company's investments in marketable securities was $10,331,311 as compared with $10,516,494 as at November 30, 2016. Cash and cash equivalents at May 31, 2017 totaled $1,286,222 as compared to $1,214,972 at November 30, 2016. The Company's only debt was comprised of trade payables of $73,515 as of May 31, 2017.
During the six month period ended May 31, 2017 Elysee returned $440,819 to the shareholders by way of a $0.02 per share cash dividend. In addition, the Company repurchased 244,000 of its shares at a total cost of $91,900 pursuant to a Normal Course Issuer Bid. These shares were returned to treasury and cancelled at the end of the period.
As of May 31, 2017 Elysee's net asset value ("NAV") was $0.53 per share. The five most significant positions held by Elysee on that date were TerraX Minerals Inc., IBC Advanced Alloys Corp., PolyMet Mining Corp., NioCorp Developments Ltd. and Largo Resource Ltd.
NAV is a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) measure calculated as the value of total assets less the value of total liabilities divided by the total number of common shares outstanding as at a specific date. For the purpose of this calculation, share purchase warrants held by Elysee were valued using the Black-Scholes model calculation, as reported in our annual and quarterly financial statements. The term NAV does not have any standardized meaning according to GAAP and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. There is no comparable GAAP measure presented in Elysee's financial statements and thus no applicable quantitative reconciliation for such non-GAAP financial measure. The Company believes that NAV can provide information useful to its shareholders in understanding its performance, and may assist in the evaluation of its business relative to that of its peers.
Shareholders are invited to visit our website www.elyseedevelopment.com on a regular basis for monthly updates.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Stuart Rogers
President & Chief Executive Officer
Elysee Development Corp.
Tel: (604) 689-1749
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as the term is defined in the Policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements - This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, oral or written, made by itself or on its behalf, except as required by applicable law.