Crius Energy Trust files business acquisition report and reports strong third quarter results

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR OVER UNITED STATES WIRE SERVICES/

TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2013 /CNW/ - Crius Energy Trust ("Crius Energy" or the "Trust") (TSX:KWH.UN) announced that it has filed a Business Acquisition Report in respect of the acquisition, by a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Trust, of a 26.8% ownership interest in Crius Energy, LLC (the "Company"). The acquisition closed on November 13, 2012 concurrently with the initial public offering of the Trust.

The Business Acquisition Report includes, among other things, pro-forma financial statements of the Trust for the third quarter ended September 30, 2012, as well as third quarter results of the Trust's wholly-owned operating subsidiaries, Regional Energy Holdings, Inc. and Public Power, LLC. The complete Business Acquisition Report is available under the Trust's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and are available on the Trust's website at www.criusenergytrust.ca.

This press release contains statements that are forward looking. Investors should read the section Forward- Looking Statements at the end of this news release. In this news release, references to "Crius Energy" or the "Trust" include the Trust and its operating subsidiaries.

Third quarter 2012 Pro forma highlights

• Revenue of $120.6 million for the quarter, $306.3 million year to date
• Gross margin of $32.0 million for the quarter, $91.5 million year to date
• Gross margin as a percentage of revenue of 26.5%, 29.9% year to date
• Adjusted EBITDA of $17.2 million for the quarter, $50.3 million year to date
• Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue of 14.3% for the quarter, 16.4% for the year to date
• Net income of $12.7 million for the quarter, $32.4 million for the year to date
• 504,051 residential customer equivalents at the end of the third quarter, up from 484,380¹ at the end of the second quarter, including gross adds of 82,585.

The following table shows highlights of the pro forma consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the Trust for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 from the Business Acquisition Report filed January 16, 2013 together with the pro forma consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the Trust for the six months ended June 30, 2012 from the Prospectus filed November 2, 2012. These two sets of financial results were used to derive the third quarter results. Certain totals and sub-totals may not reconcile due to rounding.

Commenting on third quarter results, Chief Executive Officer Michael Fallquist stated "we are pleased with the strong third quarter performance for our business. These quarterly results demonstrate our ability to execute on our business strategy and establish Crius Energy as a leader in the retail energy industry.  With continued robust customer growth in the fourth quarter and future synergies gained from the combination of Regional Energy Holdings and Public Power, we have created a solid foundation for the future."

About Crius Energy

Crius Energy has been established to provide investors with a stable and consistent distribution-producing investment through the acquisition of an ownership interest in the Company by an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Crius Energy. The Company is one of the largest independent energy retailers operating in the United States, with more than 500,000 residential customer equivalents. The Company serves residential and small to medium-size commercial customers in the United States and markets its products through a variety of sales channels and brand names. The Company currently sells electricity in 11 states and the District of Columbia and natural gas in five states.

Crius Energy is a "mutual fund trust" under the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act"). The Trust will not be a "SIFT trust" (as defined in the Tax Act), provided that the Trust complies at all times with its investment restriction which precludes the Trust from holding any "non-portfolio property" (as defined in the Tax Act). Material information pertaining to Crius Energy may be found on www.sedar.com or www.criusenergytrust.ca.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

Statements throughout this news release make reference to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA which are non-International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") financial measures commonly used by financial analysts in evaluating financial performance of companies, including companies in the energy retailing industry. Accordingly, management believes EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA may be useful metrics for evaluating the Trust's financial performance as they are measures that management uses internally to assess performance, in addition to IFRS measures. As there is no generally accepted method of calculating EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, these terms as used herein are not necessarily comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. The items excluded from EBITDA are significant in assessing the Trust's operating results and liquidity. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation from, or as an alternative to, net income or other data prepared in accordance with IFRS. EBITDA is calculated as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is calculated as EBITDA adjusted to exclude any change in the fair value of derivative instruments. Below is a reconciliation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income as calculated under IFRS for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 (for a reconciliation for the six months ended June 30, 2012, please refer to the prospectus filed by Crius Energy on November 2, 2012).

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond the control of Crius Energy, including, without limitation, those listed under "Risk Factors" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in Crius Energy's final prospectus (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, Crius Energy's objectives and status as a mutual fund trust and not a SIFT trust, results of operations, financial position or cash flows, customer revenues and margins, customer additions and renewals, customer attrition, customer consumption levels, general and administrative expenses, treatment under governmental regulatory regimes, distributable cash and Crius Energy's expectations and estimates regarding the payment of distributions to unitholders. Crius Energy cautions investors of Crius Energy's securities about important factors that could cause Crius Energy's actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements included in this news release. Any statements that express, or involve discussions as to, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking and may involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be given that the expectations set out in this news release will prove to be correct and accordingly, prospective investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release and Crius Energy does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

¹  As part of the business integration of Public Power and Regional Energy Holdings, the Company adopted a uniform method for the calculation of residential customer equivalents.  This resulted in a decrease in second quarter residential customer equivalent count of approximately 11,000 (or 2.2%) residential customer equivalents from previous disclosures.  The new method will be adopted consistently in the future.

SOURCE: Crius Energy Trust