Crosswinds Holdings Inc. Reports 2015 Financial Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - March 28, 2016) - Crosswinds Holdings Inc. ("Crosswinds" or the "Company") (TSX:CWI) today announced its financial results as at and for the three months and year ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Business Highlights

• In Q1 2015, Crosswinds invested $15.3 million to establish its platform investment in the insurance industry: Monarch National Insurance Company ("Monarch"), a Florida based insurance carrier;
• Monarch began writing Homeowners Insurance in Florida in Q2 2015;
• Crosswinds AUM LLC began earning fees for managing assets for the Monarch entities in Q2 2015; and
• Salbro Bottle Inc. repaid $1.8 million of its outstanding debentures to Crosswinds in Q4 2015. As part of the debt repayment, modifications were made to the capital structure of Salbro and certain terms of the Company's investment to further align interests.

2015 Financial Highlights

As at and for the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company reported:

• Net loss of $(2,023,962) or $(0.36) per share compared to a net loss of $(301,459) or $(0.04) per share for the year ended December 31, 2014;
• Share of loss of an associate of $0.8 million due principally to one time charges incurred with the start-up of Monarch National Insurance;
• Non-cash charges of $1.3 million related to the issuance of DSUs to certain directors and officers; and
• Shareholders' equity attributable to Crosswinds' shareholders (or net book value(1)) of $21.0 million or $3.96 per share⁽¹⁾ compared to $20.6 million or $3.89 per share⁽¹⁾ at December 31, 2014; as a result of the other comprehensive income associated with the translation of the Company's investment in Monarch National Insurance, the net book value remains substantially unchanged from 2014 to 2015.

⁽¹⁾ Net book value per share is a non-IFRS financial measure and is calculated as total shareholders' equity under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) divided by the number of common shares outstanding as at December 31, 2015 and 2014. See the cautionary statement regarding use of Non-IFRS financial measures at the end of this release.

Q4 2015 Financial Highlights

For the three months ended December 31, 2015, the Company reported a net loss of $(896,129) or $(0.17) per share compared to net loss of $(631,883) or $(0.12) per share for the fourth quarter of 2014. The net loss in Q4 2015 was primarily comprised of:

• Share of loss in Monarch in the amount of $126,000;
• Reduction in the fair value of the Salbro warrants in the amount of $136,000;
• Non-cash compensation expense related to the DSUs in the amount of $172,000;
• Decline in interest income compared to the same quarter in 2014; and
• Investment management fee income in the amount of $73,000.

Statement of Operations Highlights

	Three months ended December 31,						Year ended December 31,
In C$ thousands, except per share	2015			2014			2015			2014
Revenue	$	169		$	127		$	595		$	661
Net results of investments		(235	)		-			19			654
Expenses		(830	)		(759	)		(2,638	)		(1,617	)
Net (loss)	$	(896	)	$	(632	)	$	(2,024	)	$	(301	)
Net (loss) per share	$	(0.17	)	$	(0.12	)	$	(0.36	)	$	(0.04	)

2015 Balance Sheet Highlights

For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company reported:

• Cash of $3.0 million compared to $17.1 million at December 31, 2014, reflecting the investment of a substantial amount of the Company's cash in the Monarch Joint Venture in Q1 2015;
• Carrying value of $15.7 million for the Monarch investment compared to nil for the same period in 2014;
• Carrying value of $2.5 million for the Salbro debentures and warrants at 2015 year end following a repayment of $1.8 million by Salbro in Q4 2015, compared to a value of $4.0 million at year end 2014; and
• Shareholders' equity attributable to the non-controlling interest (or net book value⁽²⁾) of $2.6 million or $0.49 per share⁽²⁾ compared to nil and nil, respectively, at December 31, 2014.

⁽²⁾ Net book value per share is a non-IFRS financial measure and is calculated as total shareholders' equity under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) divided by the number of common shares outstanding as at December 31, 2015 and 2014. See the cautionary statement regarding use of Non-IFRS financial measures at the end of this release.

Balance Sheet Highlights

In C$ thousands, except per share amounts	December 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Cash	$	3,014	$	17,118
Investments in an associate and private entity		20,745		4,038
Other assets		211		44
Total Assets	$	23,970	$	21,200
Total Liabilities		368		552
Total Shareholders' Equity	$	23,602	$	20,648
Number of shares outstanding (millions)		5.3		5.3
Net book value per share	$	4.45	$	3.89

Financial Information

For a comprehensive review of the Company's results, shareholders are encouraged to read the Company's audited annual financial statements as at December 31, 2015 and accompanying Management's Discussion and Analysis and Annual Information Form, copies of which will be available on the Company's website at www.crosswindsinc.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Crosswinds Holdings Inc.

Crosswinds is a publicly traded private equity firm and asset manager targeting strategic and opportunistic investments in the financial services sector with a particular focus on the insurance industry.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "should", "plans" or "continue" or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Reference should be made to the risk factors in the Company's 2015 Annual Information Form, in the Management's Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2015 and in our other filings with Canadian securities regulators. Additional important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market factors, competition, interest rates, tax related matters, loss of personnel, reliance on key personnel, ability of the Company to generate positive future returns for investors, ability of the Company to execute its strategies from time to time; the receipt of any regulatory approvals or consents required from time to time. This news release makes reference to the net book value per share which is a non-IFRS financial measure. The Company calculates the net book value per share as it believes it to be an important metric that shareholders use and frequently request and refer to because shareholders often view the Company as an holding company of investments in private entities. Net book value is a non-IFRS financial measure that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards and therefore it is unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. This classification is not an IFRS measure and should not be considered either in isolation of, or as a substitute for, measures prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Cautionary Statement Regarding the Valuation of Investments in Private Entities

In the absence of an active market for its investments in private entities, fair values are determined by management using the appropriate valuation methodologies after considering the history and nature of the business, operating results and financial conditions, the outlook and prospects, the general economic, industry and market conditions, capital market and transaction market conditions, contractual rights relating to the investment, public market comparables, private market transactions multiples and, where applicable, other pertinent considerations. The process of valuing investments for which no active market exists is inevitably based on inherent uncertainties and the resulting values may differ from values that would have been used had an active market existed. The amounts at which the Company's investments in private entities could be disposed of may differ from the fair value assigned and the differences could be material. Estimated costs of disposition are not included in the fair value determination.

Crosswinds Holdings Inc.

365 Bay St., Suite 400

Toronto, Ontario M5H 2V1

Telephone: 1-800-439-5136