Trimac Announces a Record Year for 2012

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Feb 28, 2013, 05:46 ET

Highlights for 2012:

Revenue for the year before fuel surcharges increased 18.0% to $344.1 million
Record EBITDA for the year increased 25.8% to $45.9 million
Earnings per share for the year increased by 23.8% from $0.42 to $0.52
Acquired Northern Resource Trucking LP, Fortress Trucking Limited and Liquid Cargo Lines Limited during the year
Trimac wins the award for 2013 "Best Fleets to Drive For" for the third consecutive year

CALGARY, Feb. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Trimac Transportation Ltd. (TSX Symbol TMA) ("Trimac" or the "Company"), Canada's leader in bulk trucking, announces the release of its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2012.

For the year ended December 31, 2012 ("current year"), total revenue increased $59.0 million (or 17.8%) to $391.0 million compared to the December 31, 2011 ("prior year") amount of $332.1 million. Revenue excluding fuel surcharges improved by 18% to $344.1 million. Increases were experienced primarily in the bulk trucking segment where incremental revenue from acquisitions contributed $43.2 million to the increase and growth from new business contributed $11.7 million of additional revenue. The three acquisitions were Northern Resource Trucking Limited Partnership ("NRT") (March 19^th, 2012), Fortress Trucking Limited (March 30^th, 2012) and Liquid Cargo Lines Limited (July 30^th, 2012).

Trimac's consolidated revenue, including fuel surcharges, for the three-month period ended December 31, 2012 ("current quarter") increased by $17.0 million (or 19.6%) as compared to the same period in the prior year ("comparative quarter"). Revenue excluding fuel surcharges for the current quarter increased $16.8 million (or 22.3%). This increase was in the bulk trucking segment which was primarily the result of the three acquisitions completed in 2012, as well as increased volumes with existing customers, new business awards, and rate increases.

During the fourth quarter, the Company elected to early adopt IFRS 10 in advance of the mandatory effective date of January 1, 2013. The adoption of IFRS 10 resulted in a change to the method of accounting for Trimac's investment in NRT from the equity method to fully consolidating the results of NRT from the March 19, 2012 acquisition date.

The "Best Fleets to Drive For" award identifies for-hire trucking companies that provide the best workplace experiences for their drivers. The Truckload Carriers Association recognizes the "Top 20 Carriers" in North America each year. Companies are nominated from company drivers and independent contractors and then evaluated in a variety of categories including total compensation, health benefits, retirement plans, professional development opportunities and advancement opportunities.

"Our strong results in 2012 reflect the success of our strategic initiatives during the year," commented Edward V. Malysa, President and Chief Operating Officer of Trimac. "We are looking forward to continued growth in revenue and earnings in 2013. Trimac will benefit from a full year of operations resulting from the acquisitions and business awards completed during 2012. In addition, we are well positioned to continue our growth based on recent business awards in Atlantic Canada from Holcim and other smaller awards. Our Company's promise to our customers is delivering reliable service through cost effective business solutions with a focus on safety. Trimac's results in 2012 reflect our success in delivering on this promise."

"Service with Safety"

Financial Highlights

		Three months ended December 31			Year ended December 31
(in millions of dollars except per share data)		2012	2011	Variance	2012	2011	Variance


Revenue before fuel surcharges		92.1	75.3	22.3%	344.1	291.5	18.0%

Operating expenses:
	Direct costs	77.8	65.1	19.5%	292.0	250.7	16.5%
	Fuel surcharges (1)	(11.9)	(11.7)	-1.7%	(46.9)	(40.6)	-15.5%
		65.9	53.4	23.4%	245.1	210.1	16.7%
	Percent of revenue	71.6%	70.9%		71.2%	72.1%

	Selling and administration	14.2	11.2	26.8%	53.0	44.9	18.0%
	Percent of revenue	15.4%	14.9%		15.4%	15.4%

EBITDA		12.0	10.7	12.1%	45.9	36.5	25.8%
Operating earnings		5.2	5.6	-7.1%	22.0	18.1	21.5%
Pre-tax earnings		4.1	4.8	-14.6%	18.9	14.4	31.3%
Adjusted net income		2.9	4.2	-31.0%	14.2	11.1	27.9%

Segment Results

Revenue before fuel surcharges:
	Bulk Trucking	84.5	66.6	26.9%	313.1	258.2	21.3%
	Bulk Plus Logistics	4.5	4.7	-4.3%	18.7	18.9	-1.1%
	National Tank Services	10.6	10.0	6.0%	41.0	36.6	12.0%
	Inter-segment revenue	(7.5)	(6.0)		(28.7)	(22.2)
		92.1	75.3	22.3%	344.1	291.5	18.0%

EBITDA:
	Bulk Trucking	10.4	9.0	15.6%	38.8	29.6	31.1%
	Bulk Plus Logistics	0.6	0.4	50.0%	2.7	2.0	35.0%
	National Tank Services	1.0	1.3	-23.1%	4.4	4.9	-10.2%
		12.0	10.7		45.9	36.5

Other Information

	Cash generated from operations	12.7	10.9		46.5	36.2
	Net property, plant and equipment additions	11.0	3.1		42.2	26.9
	Repurchase of common shares	-	-		-	5.5
	Acquisitions & investments	-	-		21.6	4.0


Share Information

	Cash generated from operations per share	0.45	0.42		1.70	1.40
	Earnings per share (basic)	0.10	0.17		0.52	0.42
	Number of outstanding shares (basic)	27.9	25.7		27.4	25.9
(1) Management believes it is useful to net fuel surcharge revenue into direct expenses when analyzing operating results. For Trimac, fuel surcharge revenue is considered an expense recovery.

Declaration of Quarterly Dividend

The Board of Directors today declared a dividend of $0.07 per share on the Class A shares, payable on April 15, 2013 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 28, 2012.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information included in this news release constitutes "forward-looking statements". Trimac cautions that, by their nature, these forward-looking statements are based on suppositions, risks, and uncertainties as well as on management's best possible evaluation of future events. Trimac cautions that its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and the actual results or performance of Trimac or the transportation industry may be materially different from the outlook or any future results or performance implied by such statements. Please see "Forward-Looking Statements" in Trimac's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2012 for a discussion of the material factors that could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking information contained herein and the material factors and assumptions that were applied in preparing such forward-looking information.

Profile

Trimac is Canada's largest provider of bulk trucking services with operations from coast to coast. In addition, through its National Tank Services division, Trimac performs repairs, maintenance and tank-trailer cleaning services for both the Trimac fleet and for third party commercial customers. Trimac also provides third party transportation logistics services in Canada and the United States through its wholly owned subsidiary Bulk Plus Logistics. Shares of Trimac Transportation Ltd. are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TMA.

For more detailed information, please visit our website at www.trimac.ca or SEDAR at www.sedar.com and review our MD&A and audited financial statements for the Company.

You are invited to join us on a conference call (conference ID number 3046383) at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday, March 4, 2013. For North American participants, please dial 1-800-820-0231 or for international participants, please dial ++1-416-640-5926 at least 10 minutes prior to the start time of the call. An audio playback of the call will be available starting Tuesday, March 5, 2013 on our website at http://www.trimac.ca/page/eventscalendar.