Altius Reports Annual Attributable Royalty Revenue of $67.5M And Adjusted Operating Cash Flow of $1.14 Per Share
TSX: ALS | OTCQX: ATUSF Altius Minerals Corporation
March 10, 2021 | St. John’s, Newfoundland
Altius Reports Annual Attributable Royalty Revenue of $67.5M And Adjusted Operating Cash
Flow of $1.14 Per Share
Altius Minerals Corporation (TSX: ALS; OTCQX: ATUSF) (“Altius” or the “Corporation”)
reports attributable royalty revenue(1) of $ 67.5 million ($1.62 per share (1)) for the year ended
December 31, 2020 which was down 14% from royalty revenue of $78.1 million ($1.83 per share)
reported in 2019.
Q4 2020 attributable royalty revenue was $21.9 million , up 26% from its year ago comparable
period and a new quarterly record.
Adjusted EBITDA(1) for the year was $53.0 million or $1.27 per share, down 15% from Adjusted
EBITDA of $62.6 million ($1.46 per share(1)) in 2019. The adjusted EBITDA margin for the year
was 78%, down slightly from 80% in 2019, consistent with lower total royalty revenue.
Quarterly adjusted EBITDA of $17.6 million was up 29% from its year ago comparable period of
$13.6 million.
Adjusted operating cash flow of $47.5 million or $1.14 per share increased by 8% over 2019
despite the lower annual revenue, reflecting reduced general and administrative expenses, lower
Chapada stream cost of sales and the timing of corporate tax instalment payments.
Q4 adjusted operating cash flow of $13.5 million was up 43% from the $9.4 million generated in
Q4 2019.
Adjusted net earnings of $14.6 million or $0.35 per share(1) compare to $23.4 million or $0.55 per
share in 2019, with the main adjusting items for 2020 being non-cash based carrying value
adjustments.
Adjusted earnings of $7.4 million in Q4 2020 or $0.18 per share compares to $5.0 million or $0.12
per share in Q4 2019.
The full table reconcili ng adjusted net earnings per share to net earnings per share is included
below.
The project generation business contributed $6.7 million during the year from the sale of equity
positions (net of cash reinvestments) . Th ese net proceeds are not included in the adjusted
operating cash flow amount reported above as these are classified under “Investing Activities”
within the Corporation’s consolidated statement of cash flows.
TSX: ALS | OTCQX: ATUSF Altius Minerals Corporation
Capital Allocation Summary
The Corporation’s capital allocation priorities are linked to its strategy of creating per share value
growth through a portfolio of assets that relate to long life, high margin operations while providing
growing shareholder capital returns.
The strategy is further defined by an investment focus towards several major sustainability-related
global macro trends including the electricity generation transition from fossil fuel to renewables,
transportation electrification , reduced emissions from steel making and increasing agricultural
yield requirements. These trends hold the potential to cause demand surges for many of Altius’s
commodity exposures including copper, renewable based electricity, several key battery metals
(lithium, nickel and cobalt), low-impurity iron ore, and potash.
The main use of cash in 2020 was a $67.6 million investment in renewable royalties through then
private subsidiary Altius Renewable Royalties Corp. (“ARR”). Subsequent to year end, ARR
completed a $100,100,000 initial public offering of common shares and on February 26, 2021
commenced trading on the TSX under the symbol “ARR” . The proceeds from the IPO will be
used by ARR to fund additional renewable energy royalty focused investments.
The Corporation made scheduled debt repayments of $20 million in 2020 and paid cash dividends
of $7.9 million to its common shareholders and $5.0 million in distributions to its preferred security
holder. The Corporation also repurchased 644,400 shares at a cost of approximately $6.1 million
compared to 802,000 shares repurchased at a cost of approximately $9.3 million in the prior year.
It ended the year with 41,477,653 shares outstanding for a 1% decrease relative to year end
2019.
Outlook and Guidance
The Corporation has decided to revise its guidance practice from revenue based to production
volume-based summaries of the disclosable information it gains from its underlying operators. We
will no longer be including a price realization component to our estimates going forward as these
are inherently volatile and therefore introduce unreliability to revenue based estimating. A table
that summarizes the production outlook is available as part of the Q4 2020 conference call
presentation on the website at www.altiusminerals.com.
Portfolio Performance
Base metals (copper, nickel, zinc and cobalt) revenue accounted for 40% of total revenue
(37% 2019).
Chapada revenue was 13% lower than 2019 revenue due to lower volumes , partially due to an
electrical system failure in September that reduced milling capacity , but which has since been
repaired. Despite a sudden decline in realized copper prices in the first half of the year, prices
recovered in the second half and full year realized copper prices were slightly higher than in 2019.
Revenue from the 777 mine was 10% higher year over year reflecting improved average copper
prices and the mining of high-grade copper stopes in the fourth quarter, which partially offset the
lower volumes that resulted from a suspension of production after an equipment failure within the
production shaft in October.
TSX: ALS | OTCQX: ATUSF Altius Minerals Corporation
Voisey’s Bay royalties were down 19% from last year, as the mine was placed on care and
maintenance f or much of the Q 2 to Q3 period as a result of COVID -19 related precautionary
measures. When production resumed it coincided with a period of improved nickel prices.
First royalty revenue from the Gunnison in-situ leach copper operation owned by Excelsior Mining
Corp. (“Excelsior”) was originally expected in 2020 but was delayed due to COVID -19
precautionary measures and a slower than expected startup. Excelsior announced it had
produced first copper cathode production on December 21, 2020. It subsequently announced that
a total of 90,000 pounds of copper cathode were sold and that it expected to reach Phase I
nameplate capacity rate of 25 million pounds per annum sometime in 2021. Altius holds a 1.625%
gross sales royalty on the Gunnison copper project.
Potash royalty revenue accounted for 22% of total royalty revenue (21% in 2019).
For the year ended December 31, 2020, revenues were down 12% as compared to 2019 on lower
annual average realized pricing. Fertilizer markets strengthened sharply in the fourth quarter of
and global prices have continued to move upwards in the new year to recently approach a multi-
year high. Volumes were up 3.7% year over year, although Q4 volumes were lower than the prior
two quarters of the year due to annual maintenance at Rocanville.
Iron ore royalty revenue accounted for 13% of total royalty revenue in 2020 (20% in 2019).
Dividends received from Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corporation (“LIORC”), which serves as a
pass-through vehicle for royalties and equity dividends received from the operations of the Iron
Ore Company of Canada, totaled $3.05 per LIORC share, as compared to $4.00 in 2019. The
decrease in total revenue received reflects both the lower dividend and a reduction in the
Corporation’s shareholding level relative to 2019.
Thermal coal royalty revenue accounted for 20% of total royalty revenue in 2020 (16% in 2019)
largely owning to an increased interest in LP based royalty ownership . The acquisition of
additional royalty partnership units from Liberty Metals & Mining Holdings LLC announced on July
27, 2020 for a net cost of $9.0 million resulted in incremental revenue during 2020 of $4.0 million.
The following tables summarize the financial results and attributable revenue for the years ended
December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018:
TSX: ALS | OTCQX: ATUSF Altius Minerals Corporation
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 December 31, 2018
Revenue
Attributable royalty 67,502$ 78,105$ 67,047$
Project generation - 99 1,353
Attributable revenue (1) 67,502 78,204 68,400
Adjust: joint venture revenue (7,445) (16,979) (19,165)
IFRS revenue per consolidated financial statements 60,057 61,225 49,235
Total assets 589,610$ 566,874$ 558,981$
Total liabilities 205,785 166,913 174,720
Dividends declared & paid to shareholders 8,318 8,117 6,899
Adjusted EBITDA (1) 52,820 62,568 52,990
Adjusted operating cash flow (1) 47,456 44,077 34,721
Net earnings (loss) (26,213) 18,338 1,938
Attributable revenue per share (1) 1.62$ 1.83$ 1.58$
Adjusted EBITDA per share (1) 1.27 1.46 1.23
Adjusted operating cash flow per share (1) 1.14 1.03 0.80
Net earnings (loss) per share, basic and diluted (0.65) 0.41 0.03
(1) See non-IFRS measures section for definition and reconciliation
In Thousands of Canadian Dollars, except per share amounts
Year Ended
In Thousands of Canadian Dollars
Summary of attributable royalty revenue December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Variance December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 Variance
Revenue
Base metals
777 Mine 1,894$ 2,425$ (531)$ 10,592$ 9,646$ 946$
Chapada 4,538 3,753 785 15,257 17,632 (2,375)
Voisey's Bay 358 337 21 1,012 1,255 (243)
Metallurgical Coal
Cheviot 265 308 (43) 1,612 3,199 (1,587)
Thermal (Electrical) Coal
Genesee 2,890 1,746 1,144 7,510 5,275 2,235
Paintearth - 196 (196) 75 616 (541)
Sheerness 3,384 1,258 2,126 5,679 5,599 80
Highvale 35 327 (292) 432 1,035 (603)
Potash
Cory 328 219 109 1,107 1,051 56
Rocanville 1,617 1,811 (194) 8,780 10,626 (1,846)
Allan 133 69 64 638 596 42
Patience Lake 146 140 6 444 415 29
Esterhazy 745 642 103 3,515 3,772 (257)
Vanscoy 47 18 29 90 153 (63)
Lanigan 6 5 1 24 18 6
Iron ore (1) 5,173 3,971 1,202 8,765 15,480 (6,715)
Other
Renewables 126 76 50 1,203 482 721
Coal bed methane 140 178 (38) 425 492 (67)
Interest and investment 134 18 116 342 764 (422)
Attributable royalty revenue 21,959$ 17,497$ 4,462$ 67,502$ 78,105$ (10,603)$
(1)LIORC dividends received
See non-IFRS measures section of this MD&A for definition and reconciliation of attributable revenue
Three months ended Year ended
TSX: ALS | OTCQX: ATUSF Altius Minerals Corporation
Notes
1. Attributable revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating cash flow (and respective per share amounts) are intended to provide
additional information only and do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and should not be considered in is olation or
as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. Other companies may calculate these measures differently.
The attributable revenue, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating cash flow per share metrics divide the respective values b y the basic
weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. For a reconciliation of these measures to various IFRS measures, please
see the Corporation’s MD&A which is available at http:/altiusminerals.com/financial-statements.
2. Adjusted earnings and respective per share amounts are intended to provide additional information only and do not have any st andardized
meaning prescribed under IFRS and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in
accordance with IFRS. Other companies may calculate these measures differently. The calculations used for the adjusted earnings per share
are as follows:
December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019 December 31, 2020 December 31, 2019
Reported earnings (loss) per share 0.30$ 0.21$ (0.65)$ 0.41$
Adjusted for:
Equity investments and joint ventures (0.02) 0.02 0.01 0.03
Impairments 0.01 - 1.11 0.25
Derivatives and foreign exchange (0.06) - (0.10) (0.06)
Gain on disposition of royalty interest - (0.07) - (0.07)
Gain on disposition of mineral property (0.05) - (0.05) -
Tax adjustments - (0.04) 0.03 (0.06)
Adjusted earnings per share 0.18$ 0.12$ 0.35$ 0.50$
Equity accounted for (gains) and losses 0 0 0.01 0
Impairments 0.01 0 1.11 0.25
Foreign currency (gains) losses -0.03 0 0 -0.05
(Gain) loss on adjustment of derivatives -0.03 0 -0.09 -0.01
(Gain) on disposition of royalty interest -0.01 0 0 -0.07
(Gain) on disposition of mineral property -0.05 -0.07 -0.05 0
(Gain) on deconsolidation of subsidiary 0 0 0 0
Tax adjustments -0.01 -0.04 0.02 -0.06
Investment in associates 0 0.02 0 0.03
0.18 0.12 0.35 0.5
Year endedThree months ended
Adjusted Earnings per Share
In T ho usand s o f C anad ian D o llars, excep t p er share amo unt s
Additional information on the Corporation’s results of operations and developments in its Project
Generation division are included in the Corporation’s MD&A and Financial Statements which
were filed on SEDAR today and are also available on the Corporation’s website at
www.altiusminerals.com.
Liquidity and Dividend Declaration
Cash at December 31, 2020 was $21.8 million and the value of publicly traded Project Generation
business equity holdings was $52.2 million. The Corporation’s outstanding debt decreased to
$133.0 million at year end, with approximately $41.0 million available under the revolving facility.
The Corporation advises that its board of directors has declared a cash dividend of five cents per
common share payable to all shareholders of record at the close of business on March 19, 2021.
The dividend is expected to be paid on or about M arch 31, 2021. This dividend is eligible for
payment in common shares under the Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRIP) announced by press
release May 20, 2020, and available to shareholders who are Canadian residents or residents of
countries outside the United States. In or der to be eligible to participate in respect of the March
31, 2021 dividend, non-registered shareholders must provide instruction to their brokerage and
registered shareholders must provide completed enrollment forms to the transfer agent by March
12, 2021, five business days prior to record date. Stock market purchases made under the DRIP
for the March 31, 2021 payment will be satisfied by issuance from treasury at a 5% discount to
the 5 day volume weighted average price ending at the close of trading th e day before payment
date. Shareholders who have already provided instruction to be enrolled earlier this year will
continue to be enrolled unless they direct otherwise. For more information, please see
http://www.altiusminerals.com/dividend-reinvestment-plan. Participation in the DRIP is optional
and will not impact any cash dividends payable to shareholders who do not elect to participate in
the DRIP. The declaration, timing and pa yment of future dividends will largely depend on the
TSX: ALS | OTCQX: ATUSF Altius Minerals Corporation
Corporation’s financial results as well as other factors. Dividends paid by Altius on its common
shares are eligible dividends for Canadian income tax purposes unless otherwise stated.
Fourth Quarter and Year end 2020 Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast Details
Additional details relating to individual royalty performances and asset level developments will be
provided with the release of full financial results, which will occu r on March 10, 2021 after the
close of market, with a conference call to follow on March 11, 2021.
Date: March 11, 2021
Time: 9:00 AM EST
Toll Free Dial-In Number: +1(866) 521-4909
International Dial-In Number: +1(647) 427-2311
Conference Call Title and ID: Altius Q4 and Year End 2020 Financial Results; ID - 5162939
Webcast Link: Altius Q4 and Year End 2020 Financial Results
About Altius
Altius’s strategy is to create per share growth through a diversified portfolio of royalty ass ets that relate to
long life, high margin operations. This strategy further provides shareholders with exposures that are well
aligned with sustainability -related global growth trends including the electricity generation transition from
fossil fuel to renewables, transportation electrification, reduced emissions from steelmaking and increasing
agricultural yield requirements. These macro-trends each hold the potential to cause increased demand for
many of Altius’s commodity exposures including copper, rene wable based electricity, several key battery
metals (lithium, nickel and cobalt), clean iron ore, and potash. In addition, Altius runs a successful Project
Generation business that originates mineral projects for sale to developers in exchange for equity positions
and royalties. Altius has 41,477,653 common shares issued and outstanding that are listed on Canada’s
Toronto Stock Exchange. It is a member of both the S&P/TSX Small Cap and S&P/TSX Global Mining
Indices.
Forward-looking information
This news release contains forward ‐looking information. The stat ements are based on reasonable
assumptions and expectations of management and Altius provides no assurance that actual events will
meet management's expectations. In certain cases, forward‐looking information may be identified by such
terms as "anticipates", "believes", "could", "estimates", "expects", "may", "shall", "will", or "would". Although
Altius believes the expectations expressed in such forward ‐looking statements are based on reasonable
assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future per formance and actual results or
developments may differ materially from those projected. Readers should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking information. Altius does not undertake to update any forward-looking information contained
herein except in accordance with securities regulation.
For further information, please contact:
Flora Wood
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 1.877.576.2209
Direct: +1(416)346.9020
Ben Lewis
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 1.877.576.2209