Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat: Aimia’s earnings came out recently and the stock briefly plunged. What I can’t understand is how to interpret the earnings. The headline is that Aimia lost $57.2 million. But the adjusted earnings show a substantial profit, and cash flow is great, too. Cheers.

Article Excerpt

A: Aimia Inc., $9.26, symbol AIM on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 152.3 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.aimia.com), is a recommendation of our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. The company owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada’s largest loyalty program. The plan has over 5 million members who collect Aeroplan miles from participating companies. They can exchange those miles for flights, but also car rentals, hotel rooms and merchandise. In the U.K., Aimia owns Nectar, that country’s biggest loyalty program. The company also holds 60% of Air Miles Middle East, the leading loyalty program in the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain. Apart from operating those loyalty programs, the company also offers services to help companies set up their own loyalty plans to retain and attract customers. This is an expanding business opportunity for Aimia. The stock’s price fell from about $9.45 to as low as $9.00 when the company released its 2016 results earlier this month. The shares have since moved up to the current price (which is up…