Vancouver, C.-B. (TSXV : PTF) Pender Growth Fund Inc. (the “Company”) today announced its financial and operational results for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Financial Highlights (Unaudited)

• Net loss was $8,520,121 for the three months ended September 30, 2022 (September 30, 2021 – Net income $75,339,050) primarily the result of negative investment performance in the quarter.
• Net loss per Share for the three months ended September 30, 2022, was $1.12 (September 30, 2021 – Net income per Share $9.89).
• Shareholders’ equity per Class C common share (“Share”) was $10.46 as at September 30, 2022 (December 31, 2021 – $26.08).
• The Company’s total shareholders’ equity was $79.3 million as at September 30, 2022, a decrease from December 31, 2021 ($198.6 million) resulting primarily from a decline in market prices of public company shares during the period.
• Shares outstanding were 7,582,329 as at September 30, 2022, a decrease from December 31, 2021 (7,616,529) as a result of share repurchases under the Company’s Normal Course Issuer Bid (“NCIB”), which was renewed on February 14, 2022.
• At September 30, 2022, 81.1% of the investment portfolio was made up of private companies and 18.9% of public companies. However, taken together with the Company’s indirect exposure to public companies through its investment in Pender Private Investments Inc. (“PPI”) and Pender Private Debt Opportunities Fund I Limited Partnership (“PPDF”) , public companies make up 86.2% of the Company’s holdings.
• Management Expense Ratio (“MER”) excluding performance fees was 2.35% for the three months ended September 30, 2022, an improvement by 95% compared to the third quarter of 2021.

The Company’s portfolio is materially concentrated in the shares of one publicly listed Portfolio Company, Copperleaf Technologies Inc. (“Copperleaf”). At September 30, 2022, considering both its direct investment and its indirect investment through its holding of shares of PPI, the Company held 6,762,065 shares of Copperleaf with a value of $­­­42,465,767, which is 53.5% of the Company’s total shareholders’ equity of $79,305,495 (December 31, 2021 – 7,455,638 Shares with a value of $177,816,957 which was 90% of the Company’s total shareholders’ equity of $198,643,655).

During 2021, Copperleaf became publicly listed and its closing price at December 31, 2021 was $23.85 per share.  This resulted in a substantial direct and indirect unrealized gain under IFRS. Those unrealized gains were a major factor in the 2021 increase in the Company’s shareholders’ equity, which went from $47.3 million at the beginning of 2021 to $198.6 million at December 31, 2021.

As at September 30, 2022, the closing price of Copperleaf was $6.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company sold a total of 745,532  shares from its direct and indirect holdings of Copperleaf.  In November 2022, shares of Copperleaf were trading below $3.50 per share, significantly below their September 30, 2022 closing price of $6.28 per share. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to realize the value of this investment.

Faits saillants du portefeuille

The move by central banks to taper monetary and fiscal stimulus and raise interest rates to control inflation, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 global health pandemic led to concerns about the outlook for economic growth and created volatility in equities as the uncertainty added by these developments were digested.  We believe that the Company continues to be well-positioned today to pursue its investment objectives despite current market volatility and valuations in micro and small cap stocks in North America.

As always, this quarter we worked closely with our private portfolio companies and certain of our public portfolio companies.

Importantes participations au capital et événements récents

Pender Private Investments Inc.

At September 30, 2022, the Company held approximately 98% of the Legacy Shares of PPI, formerly the Working Opportunity Fund (EVCC) Ltd. (“WOF”). These shares were acquired in May 2021 from shareholders of WOF (“Exiting Shareholders”) under the previously announced transaction (the “WOF” Transaction”) and in transactions subsequent to May 2021.

Copperleaf Technologies Inc.

At September 30, 2022, the Company held 9.6% of Copperleaf’s issued and outstanding shares, both directly and through its investment in PPI.  The value of the Company’s direct and indirect holdings of Copperleaf was $42,465,767 at September 30, 2022, which is 53.5% of the Company’s total shareholders’ equity.

D-Wave Quantum Inc.

On August 8, 2022, D-Wave announced the completion of its previously announced intention to list on the New York Stock Exchange following a business combination with DPCM Capital, Inc. and D-Wave Systems Inc., as a publicly traded SPAC named D-Wave Quantum Inc., under the symbol QBTS. The Company holds shares of D-Wave both directly and indirectly, through Pender Private Investments Inc., and all of its shares are subject to a lock up period^[1]. There is no guarantee that the value of D-Wave shares will be realized after the expiration of the lock up period.

Autres faits saillants

We continued to acquire shares of the Company in the market under our NCIB because we believe the shares are trading at a discount to their intrinsic value. On February 14, 2022, the Company launched a new NCIB, under which the Company may purchase a maximum of 678,839 shares, or 10% of the Company’s public float on launch date, during the one-year period ending February 13, 2023.

We encourage you to refer to the Company’s MD&A and quarterly unaudited financial statements for September 30, 2022, the annual audited financial statements for the year-ended December 31, 2021, as well as other disclosures available under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com .

À propos de la société

Pender Growth Fund Inc. est une société d’investissement. Son objectif consiste à réaliser une croissance du capital à long terme. La société se sert de son modeste capital de base et de sa vision à long terme pour investir dans des situations uniques, principalement des entreprises à petite capitalisation, des situations spéciales et des entreprises publiques et privées non liquides. La société investit dans des entreprises publiques et privées, principalement situées au Canada et aux États-Unis et issues, dans une large mesure, du secteur de la technologie. Elle se négocie sur la Bourse de croissance TSX sous le symbole « PTF » et affiche la valeur de son actif net sur son site Web, généralement dans les cinq jours suivant la fin de chaque mois.

Veuillez visiter www.pendergrowthfund.com.

Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec :

Tony Rautava
Secrétaire général
Pender Growth Fund Inc.
(604) 653-9625
Sans frais : (866) 377-4743

Ni la Bourse de croissance TSX ni son fournisseur de services de réglementation (tel que ce terme est défini dans les politiques de la Bourse de croissance TSX) n’acceptent de responsabilité quant à la pertinence ou à l’exactitude du présent communiqué de presse.

Renseignements sur les énoncés prospectifs

Ce communiqué de presse peut contenir des énoncés prospectifs (avec le sens qu’on leur accorde dans les lois sur les valeurs mobilières en vigueur) relatifs à la société et au contexte dans lequel elle exploite. Les énoncés prospectifs se reconnaissent habituellement à l’emploi de termes et expressions comme « croire », « prévoir », « anticiper », « avoir l’intention de », « estimer », « planifier » et « pouvoir », « évaluer » et de verbes au futur ou au conditionnel, et autres expressions comparables. Ces énoncés s’appuient sur les attentes, estimations, prévisions et projections de la société et comprennent, sans toutefois s’y limiter, les énoncés portant sur la diminution des risques des portefeuilles de la société, ainsi que leurs occasions de placement futures. Les énoncés prospectifs dans le présent communiqué de presse sont émis sur la base de certaines hypothèses : le rendement futur n’est pas garanti et suppose des risques et des incertitudes qui sont difficiles à contrôler ou prévoir. Un certain nombre de facteurs pourraient faire en sorte que les résultats réels diffèrent considérablement des résultats discutés dans les énoncés prospectifs, y compris, sans toutefois s’y limiter, les facteurs mentionnés dans la section « Facteurs de risque » de la notice annuelle de la société, offerte sur le site www.sedar.com. Rien ne garantit que ces énoncés prospectifs seront justes, car les résultats réels peuvent nettement différer de ceux prévus dans de tels énoncés. À cet égard, le lecteur ne doit pas se fier indûment à tout énoncé prospectif. Qui plus est, ces énoncés prospectifs sont émis en date de ce communiqué de presse et, sauf lorsque la loi en vigueur l’exige expressément, la société n’est pas tenue de faire une mise à jour publique ou de réviser tout énoncé prospectif, que ce soit à la suite d’une nouvelle information, d’événements futurs ou de toute autre raison.

[1] The lock up period is the lesser of (A) six months following the closing and (B) the date on which the last reported sale price of the QBTS equals or exceeds U$12.00 per share for any twenty trading days within any thirty consecutive trading day period commencing after the ninetieth day following the closing