Pender Growth Fund Provides Financial Highlights and Company Updates

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSXV: PTF) Pender Growth Fund Inc. (the “Company”) today announced its financial and operational results for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Financial Highlights (Unaudited)

• Net loss was $3,293,058 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 (March 31, 2022 – Net loss $51,821,705) primarily the result of negative investment performance in the quarter.
• Net loss per Share for the three months ended March 31, 2023 was $0.44 (March 31, 2022 – Net loss $6.81).
• Shareholders’ equity per Class C common share (“Share”) was $8.85 as at March 31, 2023 (December 31, 2022 – $9.28).

• The Company’s total shareholders’ equity was $66.8 million as at March 31, 2023, a decrease from December 31, 2022 ($70.2 million) resulting primarily from negative investment performance during the period.
• Shares outstanding were 7,553,629 as at March 31, 2023, a decrease from December 31, 2022 (7,569,929) as a result of share repurchases under the Company’s Normal Course Issuer Bid (“NCIB”), which was renewed on February 14, 2023.
• At March 31, 2023, 84.6% of the investment portfolio was made up of private companies and 15.4% of public companies. However, taken together with the Company’s indirect exposure to public companies through its investment in Pender Private Investments Inc. (“PPI”) and Pender Technology Inflection Fund II Limited Partnership (“PTIF II”) , public companies make up 74.1% of the Company’s holdings.
• Management Expense Ratio (“MER”) excluding performance fees was 2.44% for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, up 0.49% compared to 1.95% in the first quarter of 2022.
  
  

PERFORMANCE (Based on Shareholders’ Equity)	3 Month	1 Year	3 Year	5 Year	Since Inception
Class C	-4.7%	-54.1%	29.4%	14.8%	18.3%

The Company’s portfolio is materially concentrated in the shares of one publicly listed Portfolio Company, Copperleaf Technologies Inc. (“Copperleaf”). At March 31, 2023, considering both its direct investment and its indirect investment through its holding of shares of PPI, the Company held 6,762,065 shares of Copperleaf with a value of $37.2 million, which was 55.7% of the Company’s total shareholders’ equity of $66.8 million (December 31, 2022 – 6,762,065 Shares with a value of $38.8 million which was 55.3% of the Company’s total shareholders’ equity of $70.2 million).