Assante Corp. reported a modest profit for the fourth quarter and a narrowing loss for 2001, despite declining revenues.

Fourth quarter revenues dropped to $94.9 million from $100.7 million in the last quarter of 2000. Yet the company managed net earnings of $345,000, compared to a loss of $484,000 in the fourth quarter of 2000.

Canadian assets under management grew by $546 million to $4.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2001, about half the gain came in net sales of $258 million and the other half in market growth of $288 million.

“Our positive results this quarter were driven by the continued strength of our net sales, significant growth in our sports and entertainment channel and lower interest and income tax expenses. Those gains were partially offset by lower redemption fees and lower distribution revenues in Canada,” said Martin Weinberg, chairman, president and CEO. “Our fourth quarter EBITDA exceeded any preceding quarter in our company’s history.”

Revenue for the year ended December 31 was also down, to $368.9 million from $403.6 million in 2000. This decline is largely attributable to lower redemption fees of $5.3 million and the distribution revenues falling off as a result of last year’s difficult market conditions. Revenue from sports and entertainment channel increased from $62.7 million to $77.5 million.

The net loss for the year was $8 million as compared to $15.1 million in the prior year.

For the year, assets under administration declined by 9%. AUA were $22.6 billion at Dec. 31, 2001 down from $24.9 billion at Dec. 31, 2000.

On a segmented basis, the $2.3 billion decline in AUA is made up of a $2.8 billion decrease in Canadian AUA and an increase in U.S. AUA of $564 million. The decline in Canadian AUA is attributed primarily to market conditions. The increase in U.S. AUA reflects strong growth in directed assets of Assante Business Management, strengthening of the U.S. dollar offset by market performance over the previous year and the successful launch of Assante Global Advisors portfolio management services offering.

Advisor compensation was at 45% of revenues in the fourth quarter of 2001, compared to 48% reported in the fourth quarter of 2000. In the financial advisory channel, advisor compensation was $33.5 million, a drop of 21% from a year ago.