Our share price is now $15.34

Highlights as at December 31, 2018

• Share price: $15.34, up $1.25 compared with $14.09 as at December 31, 2017
• Net earnings: $174.9 million
• Annual return: 9.1%
• Net assets: $2,168.8 million
• Amounts committed by CRCD and its partner funds: $1,109 million in 467 SMEs and cooperatives
• Solid return of the Investments impacting the Québec economy portfolio: 19.7%

Montréal – Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD) announced that its share price has increased to $15.34, up $1.25 from the price a year earlier. CRCD generated net earnings of $174.9 million in 2018 for an annual return of 9.1%. CRCD’s net assets stood at $2,168.8 million as at December 31, 2018, up 11.5% compared with the previous year.

Over seven years, the minimum holding period for shares of CRCD, the compounded return of the share is 4.8%[i]—and that’s on top of the income tax credit claimed on purchase.

These solid results for CRCD were largely driven by the Investments impacting the Québec economy portfolio with a return of 19.7% owing to the excellent performance of portfolio companies and a number of divestments which generated significant realized gains.

Despite the stock market turmoil in 2018, particularly in the last quarter, CRCD held its own, with the Other investments portfolio posting a 1.3% return for the year. The financial asset management strategy adopted a number of years ago allows CRCD to leverage the benefits of strong complementarity between these two portfolios.

Investors are driving the growth of homegrown SMEs now more than ever
Net capital subscriptions for the year totalled $46.9 million, compared with $43.0 million for fiscal 2017.

“The exchange of shares authorized by the Québec government will be very profitable this year,” said Luc Ménard, Chief Operating Officer of Desjardins Capital, manager of the CRCD fund. In addition to reducing CRCD’s capitalization challenges, an additional $100 million, starting in 2019, can be invested again over the long term to support the growth of SMEs in all regions of Québec.”

Note that the share exchange consists in deferring for seven years an eligible shareholder’s right to redeem shares held for at least seven years in exchange for a 10% Québec tax credit.

About Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins
With nearly 108,000 shareholders, Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (CRCD) is a public company with $2,169 million in net assets. CRCD contributes to Québec economic development through several levers developed with its manager, Desjardins Capital. These levers, with CRCD as the driving force, form its entrepreneurial ecosystem designed to value and nurture the best of Québec entrepreneurship. CRCD supports the growth of nearly 470 businesses, cooperatives and funds in various industries spanning all Québec regions, helping to create and retain more than 58,000 jobs. (www.capitalregional.com)

[i] The share’s compound returns were 8.9% over one year, 6.7% over three years, 5.6% over five years and 4.9% over ten years. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in share value and reinvestment of all dividends or distributions and do not take into account any income taxes payable by any shareholder that would have reduced returns. The CRCD shares are not guaranteed, their value fluctuates and their past performance is not indicative of their future returns.