Montreal-based Fiera Capital Corp. (TSX: FSZ) Tuesday a return to profitability in the second quarter ended June 30. The independent investment firm also announced that it has raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share, from $0.09 per share.
Net earnings during the quarter rebounded to $3.1 million compared with a loss of $3.5 million in the year earlier period.
Net earnings per share were $0.06 compared to a net net loss per share of $0.06 for the year ago quarter.
Revenue increased by $6.9 million to $33.2 million, up 26% from $26.3 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.
Assets under management (AUM) were $65 billion at June 30, an increase of $10.7 billion or 20% from June 30, 2012.
On May 1, Fiera closed the transaction previously announced on January 18, with GMP Capital Inc. to acquire selected alternative investment funds of GMP Investment Management, representing approximately $0.6 billion in assets under management.
“We are very proud to have passed on the benefits of our robust financial performance to our shareholders with two dividend increases over the past six months, representing a combined 25% raise.” said Jean-Guy Desjardins, chairman, CEO and CIO of Fiera.
“We are increasingly recognized as a leader in the alternative investment field in both the institutional and retail sectors, and the GMP acquisition further strengthens our capabilities in that regard. On the infrastructure and real estate front, there is very strong demand for our strategies, as evidenced by the successful additional closing of our funds during the quarter,” he added.