UK Supreme Court Rules in Favour of Aimia in VAT Case

MONTREAL, June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Aimia today announced that it has been notified of the result of its outstanding Value Added Tax (VAT) litigation, with the UK Supreme Court ruling in its favour. It is our understanding that this judgment is final following the Supreme Court's request for further submissions from Aimia and HMRC in March 2013.

Rupert Duchesne, Aimia Group Chief Executive said: "This has been a long time coming and we are very pleased with the outcome of the UK Supreme Court's ruling."

To reflect this favourable result, the balance sheet provisions and receivables recorded in respect of this matter, as at March 31, 2013, and at the currency exchange rates at that date, will be released resulting in one-time benefit of $42.1 million (£27.2 million) to net earnings and $25.7 million (£16.7 million) to Adjusted EBITDA. Included in this one-time net earnings benefit is a charge of $41.9 million (£27.1 million) relating to contingent consideration, held in escrow, which will be released to the former shareholders of Loyalty Management Group and a $7.0 million (£4.5 million) bonus will be paid to certain employees.

About Aimia

Aimia Inc. ("Aimia") is a global leader in loyalty management. Employing more than 4,000 people in over 20 countries worldwide, Aimia offers clients, partners and members proven expertise in launching and managing coalition loyalty programs, delivering proprietary loyalty services, creating value through loyalty analytics and driving innovation in the emerging digital, mobile and social communications spaces.

Aimia owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program and Nectar, the United Kingdom's largest coalition loyalty program. In addition, Aimia owns stakes in Air Miles Middle East, Nectar Italia, Mexico's leading coalition loyalty program Club Premier, Brazil's Prismah Fidelidade, and i2c, a joint venture with Sainsbury's offering insight and data analytics services in the UK to retailers and suppliers. Aimia also holds a minority position in Cardlytics, a US-based private company operating in transaction-driven marketing for electronic banking. Aimia is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: AIM). For more information, visit us at http://www.aimia.com

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Forward-looking statements are included in this news release, including with respect to the Adjusted EBITDA benefit to Aimia on a going forward basis. These forward-looking statements are identified by the use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will", "would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions. Such statements may involve but are not limited to comments with respect to strategies, expectations, planned operations or future actions.

Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to important risks and uncertainties. Any forecasts, predictions or forward-looking statements cannot be relied upon due to, among other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business and its corporate structure. Results indicated in forward-looking statements may differ materially from actual results for a number of reasons, including the factors identified in this news release and throughout Aimia's public disclosure record on file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

The forward-looking statements contained herein represent Aimia's expectations as of June 20, 2013, and are subject to change after such date. However, Aimia disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations. 

For further information:

Media
Krista Pawley
+1-416-352-3794
krista.pawley@aimia.com

Analysts & Investors
Karen Keyes
+1-514-205-7163
karen.keyes@aimia.com

(AIM.)