Bridgemarq Real Estate Services Inc.

Good afternoon, my name is Sylvie and I would like to welcome everyone to the Bridgemark Real Estate Services Inc. 2025 First Quarter Results Conference Call. Note that this call is being recorded. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. For those of you who dialed in to the conference call, if you would like to ask a question, simply press Star the number 1 on your telephone keypad. And if you would like to withdraw from the queue, press the star 2. And for those of you joining us via webcast, if you would like to ask a question, simply type it into the Q&A box on your screen. We will answer these questions following the dial-in questions after the presentation, time permitting. I would now like to introduce Mr. Spencer Enright, Chief Executive Officer of Bridgemark Real Estate Services, Inc. Mr. Enright, you may begin the conference.

Thank you very much, Operator. And good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for joining us on the call today. With me today is our Chief Financial Officer, Glenn McMillan. I will begin with a brief overview of our company's first quarter results. Glenn will then discuss our financial results in more detail, and I'll conclude by providing some remarks on operational highlights, company updates, and market development. Following our remarks, Glenn and I would be happy to take your questions. I want to remind you that some of the remarks expressed during this call may contain forward-looking statements. You should not place reliance on these forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks and uncertainty that may cause the actual results and performance of the company to differ materially from the anticipated future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. I encourage everyone to review the cautionary language found in our news release and on all our regulatory filings. These can be found on our website and on CDAR+. So we're pleased with the strong momentum we've created in the first month of 2025, especially given the significant slowdowns in our largest housing market and global uncertainty created by recent geopolitical events. Revenue for Q1 was 78 million compared to 11.9 million last year. which, you know, reflects the addition of the brokerage businesses that we acquired on March 31st, 2024. At its meeting yesterday, our board of directors approved a dividend of 11.25 cents per share, payable on June 30th to shareholders of record on May 30th. This indicates an annualized dividend of $1.35 per share, which is consistent with last year's rate in 2024. And with that, I'll turn the call over to Glenn for a closer look at our first quarter financial performance.

Thank you, Spencer, and good afternoon, everyone. As Spencer mentioned, revenue during the first three months of the year was $78 million, a significant increase over the $11.9 million reported in the first quarter of last year, reflecting the gross commission income from our brokerage operations. Franchise fees did increase marginally due to the benefit of fee increases that we implemented on January 1st. The number of realtors in our franchise and brokerage network sits at 20,845, a decline of 1% since the end of last year, a better performance than the overall market, which is down 3% as far as total agents. Our agent count includes 1,931 agents operating at the Royal LePage and Via Capital brokerages and 708 at our proprio direct brokerage. In the first quarter, the company generated net earnings of $6 million, compared to a net loss of $400,000 in 2024. And the higher earnings are largely driven by a gain of $5.7 million on the fair valuation of the exchangeable unit. Our adjusted net earnings, which considers our operating earnings before certain non-cash, non-operating adjustments, and payments to holders of exchangeable units amounted to $3.1 million for the first quarter, up from $2.4 million in the same quarter last year. The improvement reflects the addition of the operating results of the brokerage operations, lower interest expenses, and lower impairment of intangible assets. Cash used in operating activity amounted to $1.3 million in the first quarter, as a result of a $4.4 million seasonal increase in working capital. Last year, we generated cash from operating activities of $2.1 million. We also generated $4.1 million in free cash flow in Q1, a modest improvement from the $4 million generated in the same quarter last year. The Canadian residential real estate market contracted in the first quarter of 2025, closing at $66 billion, a decrease of 7% compared to the same period in 2024, driven by a 2% decline in the average selling price and a 5% decrease in unit sales. The Greater Toronto Area market was down 23% year-over-year, closing at $13.8 billion, During that time, unit sales decreased 21%, while the average selling price dipped 2%. The Greater Vancouver market was down 12% year-over-year, closing at $6.7 billion, driven by a 7% decrease in unit sales and a 5% decline in average selling price. And meanwhile, in the province of Quebec, the residential real estate market reported an increase 22% in the first quarter compared to last year. This reflects a 13% increase in unit sales and a 9% increase in average selling price. Spencer will now provide some additional insights into the market and an update on our operations.