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Aimia falls to 52-week low, offers grim 2015 outlook

Last updated: 05:54 28 Feb 2015 AEDT, First published: 06:54 28 Feb 2015 AEDT

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Aimia (TSE:AIM) tumbled to a 52-week low after the marketing and loyalty-program provider reported lower-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter and provided a gloomy outlook for 2015.

Shares declined 9.4 percent to C$13.00 at 2:36 p.m. in Toronto. The stock has lost 25 percent in the past six months.

Net income $21.5 million, or C$0.09 per diluted share, in the October-to-December quarter, compared to a net loss of C$125.7 million, or C$0.74 loss per share, in the year-earlier period, the Montreal, Quebec-based company said in a statement today.

Adjusted profit was C$60 million, or C$0.20 per share, compared to an adjusted loss of C$111.1 million or C$0.50 loss per share.

That missed the C$0.24 average estimate of 5 analysts polled by Capital IQ estimates. But Aimia said it met or exceeded all its major financial objectives for 2014.

The company recovered from losses on both counts a year earlier due to a change in its Canadian banking partners for Aeroplan.

Aimia operates customer loyalty programs for Air Canada, TD and CIBC credit cards and other business partners.

Revenue grew 10.7 percent to C$761.1 million, topping market expectations of C$715.9 million.

“In 2014, Aimia delivered against our strategy of strengthening our position in priority markets, replicating and evolving our successful coalition loyalty model with programs in markets such as Mexico and Spain , and building our distinctive data analytics capabilities and client base globally," said Rupert Duchesne , chief executive officer, in the statement.

"At the same time, we delivered strong financial results, exceeding our guidance. With the momentum we see in recent sales, notwithstanding the fragility of the global economy, we are confident that 2015 will be another good year."

National Bank downgraded the stock to sector perform from outperform, citing disappointing guidance for 2015.

The company anticipated 2015 capital expenditures between C$70 million and C$80 million, down from the 2014 actual capital expenditures of C$81.5 million.

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