Press Release: Pender Growth Fund Provides Financial Highlights and Company Updates

Vancouver, C.-B. (TSXV : PTF) Pender Growth Fund Inc. (the “Company”) today announced its financial and operational results for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Financial Highlights (Unaudited)

• Net income was $137,400 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 (March 31, 2020 – Net loss ($953,642) as a result of positive investment performance in the quarter.
• Net income per Share for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was $0.02 (March 31, 2020 – Net loss ($0.12)).
• Net assets per Class C common share (“Share”) were $6.13 as at March 31, 2021 (December 31, 2020 - $6.11).
• The Company’s net assets were $46.8 million as at March 31, 2021, a decrease from December 31, 2020 ($47.3 million) resulting from share repurchases under the Company’s Normal Course Issuer Bid (“NCIB”) that was renewed on February 11, 2021and partially offset by positive investment performance during the quarter.
• Shares outstanding were 7,628,429, a decrease from December 31, 2020 (7,740,129) that was the result of share repurchases under the Company’s NCIB.
• Management Expense Ratio (“MER”) was 3.12% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, down from 3.55% over the same period in the prior period, primarily due to the fact that the increase in the average value of Net Assets was proportionately larger than the increase in expenses.
• At March 31, 2021, the Company had a 30.0% weighting in private companies and a 59.2% weighting in publicly-listed companies, with 10.8% cash on hand and other assets less liabilities.

*It should be noted that total shareholders’ equity per share which is calculated using IFRS for financial reporting purposes may be different from the monthly reported net asset value per share.

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Faits saillants du portefeuille
During the period we continued to be active in public markets where we saw what we believed to be strong opportunities both in longer-term compounders and potentially shorter-term close the discount situations. With the continued strength in small cap markets, we have been decreasing some positions and continue to work on new opportunities to deploy capital at attractive rates of return. 

As always, this quarter we worked closely with our private portfolio companies and certain of our public portfolio companies.  We are pleased to see private technology companies from within our portfolio having the opportunity to go public.

On February 11, 2021, the Company launched a new NCIB, under which the Company may purchase a maximum of 700,866 shares, or 10% of the Company’s public float on launch date, in the year ending February 11, 2022.  During the period 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.

We believe that the Company is particularly well-positioned today to pursue its investment objectives in the context of current market volatility and valuations in micro and small cap stocks in North America.

We encourage you to refer to the Company’s MD&A and quarterly unaudited financial statements for the March 31, 2021 and the annual audited financial statements for the year-ended December 31, 2020 and other disclosures available under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com .

On April 6, 2021, the Company entered into a definitive agreement (the “Arrangement Agreement”) for the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Working Opportunities Fund (EVCC) Ltd. (“WOF”) under of a plan of arrangement, subject to certain terms and conditions (the "Transaction").  The Transaction was approved by the shareholders on May 18, 2021 and approved by the Supreme Court of British Columbia on May 25, 2021.  Subject to certain customary closing conditions, the Transaction is anticipated to close on or about May 28, 2021.

À propos de la société
The Company’s objective is to achieve long-term capital appreciation for its investors. The Company utilizes its small capital base and long-term horizon to invest in unique situations; primarily small cap, special situations, and illiquid public and private companies. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol “PTF”.

Veuillez visiter www.pendergrowthfund.com.

Pour plus de renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec :

Tony Rautava
Gestion de capital PenderFund ltée
(604) 653-9625
Sans frais : (866) 377-4743

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Renseignements sur les énoncés prospectifs
This news release may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) relating to the business of the Company and the environment in which it operates. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as “believe”, “anticipate”, “project”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “will”, “may”, “estimate” and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company's expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s decreased portfolio risk and future investment opportunities and completion of the Transaction with WOF. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on certain assumptions; they are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's annual information form available at 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.