Press releases

Press releases

Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins announces an $0.18 rise in per share value for 2010


The Company is on track with its mission, helping to grow Québec enterprises and sustainable prosperity

Montréal, February 9, 2011 – Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins (the Company) today released its financial results for fiscal 2010, announcing net income of $18.7 million compared with $17.1 million a year earlier, an annual return of 2.0% that equals the previous fiscal year’s.

Effective at noon today, these results raise the per share value to $9.91, up $0.18 from its $9.73 level as at December 31, 2009. This is the fourth consecutive semi-annual increase in share value. For information purposes, at the price of $9.91, shareholders who invested seven years ago obtain an annual after-tax return of between 8.5% and 9.6% taking into account their income tax credit of 50%.

Chairman of the Board André Lachapelle expressed satisfaction with fiscal 2010 results, “At a time when Québec’s economy behaved well in spite of the ups and downs of a global economy in constant flux, Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins played its cards skilfully and generated positive results for the last year. This performance is due essentially to strict management of the funds entrusted to us, which we channel into Québec’s economic development, helping to build prosperity and grow collective wealth.”

Focusing on continuous growth, the Company maintained its Investments impacting the Québec economy activities. New commitments in 2010, including $100 million in partnership with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and $25 million in the Fonds d’investissement pour la relève agricole, totalled more than $225 million in 78 companies. In addition to these, a further 10 commitments were made under the agreement with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. As at December 31, 2010, total commitments reached more than $671 million in 238 companies, cooperatives and funds, contributing to the creation and retention of over 36,000 jobs.

Both the Investments impacting the Québec economy and Other investments portfolios posted positive returns. The portfolio of investments in Québec companies and cooperatives produced a 6.8% return in 2010, compared with 6.1% in 2009. The Other investments portfolio, made up mainly of bonds, yielded a return of 4.4%, compared with 5.2% for the 2009 fiscal year.

Marie-Claude Boisvert, COO of Desjardins Venture Capital, the Company’s manager said, “Our asset allocation strategy aims to produce longer term growth and give Capital régional a more balanced portfolio overall, which limits volatility. Sensitive to its partners’ individual needs, Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins not only backed companies that required special assistance, but also showed support for entrepreneurship and the cooperative movement by promoting employee-shareholder cooperatives. These are concrete actions that, by supporting the economic development of the regions, contribute to maintaining Québec’s entrepreneurial heritage. That being said, 64% of the number of investments made in 2010 were $1 million or less, and were primarily in favour of small enterprises.»

Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins shares maintained their popularity in 2010. Subscriptions for fiscal 2010 reached $181.0 million compared with $129.4 million in 2009. Also of note, the Company announced on January 7, 2011 that the authorized capitalization of $150 million for the issue that went on sale in April 2010 had sold out well before the February 28, 2011 deadline. Share redemptions totalled $85.8 million as at December 31, 2010, compared with $53.3 million in 2009, raising the Company’s net assets to almost $1,020 million. At the end of the 2010 fiscal year, the balance of the shares eligible for redemption totalled $209 million and the Company had 111,476 shareholders.

About Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins

Founded in 2001, Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins is a publicly traded company managed by Desjardins Venture Capital. With over 111,000 shareholders, the Company contributes to Québec’s economic development while driving the growth of cooperatives and the resource regions. Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins currently supports more than 230 companies, cooperatives and funds in various industries spanning all Québec regions. (www.capitalregional.com)