Sprott reports second-quarter profit plunges 90 per cent from year ago

TORONTO – Investment manager Sprott Inc. (TSX:SII) saw its second-quarter earnings plunge 90 per cent compared with a year ago as it was hit by poor investment performance amid persistent low interest rates and stock market volatility.

The company said Thursday it earned $700,000 for the quarter ended June 30 compared with a profit of $7.5 million a year ago.

On a per share basis, the company broke even for the quarter compared with a profit of four cents per share in the second quarter of 2011.

Total revenue for the three-month period fell to $27.4 million, from $39.3 million.

Assets under management at the end of the quarter totalled $8.49 billion, down from $9.29 billion a year ago.

“Our investment performance was disappointing through the first six months of the year and this negatively impacted our financial results,” Sprott chief executive Peter Grosskopf said in a statement.

“While our macro-economic assessment has been accurate, this has yet to manifest itself in improved performance for most of our funds.”