WesternOne Equity Income Fund Reports Solid Q1 2011 Financial Results and Schedules Conference Call
VANCOUVER, June 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - WesternOne Equity Income Fund ("WesternOne Equity") (TSX:WEQ.UN) (TSX:WEQ.DB) (TSX:WEQ.DB.B) (TSX:WEQ.DB.C) today announced the release of its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2011.
The results, consisting of WesternOne Equity's unaudited financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2011 and Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") dated June 13, 2011, are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
Financial highlights for the three months ended March 31, 2011:
- Significant organic growth in revenue (16%), gross profit (32%) and EBITDA(2) (31%) compared to the same period in 2010
- Payout percentage(3) of 50.8% compared to 69.0% for the same period in 2010
- Incremental revenue ($2.3 million) and EBITDA ($0.7 million) from the accretive acquisition of On*Site Equipment on April 1, 2010
- $4.70 million principal amount of Series A Debentures (plus interests thereon) were converted to WesternOne Equity units ("Units"), resulting in a deleveraging of WesternOne Equity's balance sheet and a corresponding increase of 1,134,998 Units outstanding
"We are delighted to see the strong Q1 operating results as the business environment continued to improve in our major markets," said Mr. Darren Latoski, Chief Executive Officer. "The positive business climate acts as a catalyst for growth as we gain market share in key markets such as the commercial construction sector in Alberta, and maintain strong presence in strategic niche markets such as the filming industry and shipyards in BC."
"In addition to leveraging our integrated network of operations for organic growth, we continue to actively seek external growth through identifying accretive acquisition opportunities," continued Mr. Latoski. "Our acquisition of the assets and the business of the Britco Group on June 1 will enhance our product and service offering, expand customer base, and position ourselves as an integrated construction and infrastructure service provider."
| Summary Financial Overview | For the three months ended March 31, |
||
| (unaudited) | |||
| ($000's except unit amounts) | 2011 | 2010 | % Change |
| Revenue | $ 17,451 | $ 13,045 | 33.8% |
| Gross Profit | 6,403 | 4,279 | 49.6% |
| Gross Margin (1) | 36.7% | 32.8% | |
| EBITDA (2) | 5,765 | 3,879 | 48.6% |
| Distributable Cash Generated (2) | $ 4,321 | $ 3,038 | 42.2% |
| Distributions Declared | 2,195 | 2,096 | 4.7% |
| Distributable Cash per Unit (4) | 0.2998 | 0.2175 | |
| Distributions Declared per Unit | 0.1500 | 0.1500 | |
| Payout Percentage (3) | 50.8% | 69.0% | |
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Notes:
| (1) | WesternOne Equity adopted International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") effective January 1, 2011. Under IFRS, certain operating expense items were reclassified as cost of sales, thereby deriving gross margins that were not comparable to those calculated under the previous Canadian GAAP. The 2010 comparative figures above have been reclassified to be consistent with IFRS. For further description of WesternOne Equity's adoption of IFRS, refer to "Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards" in the MD&A dated June 13, 2011. |
| (2) | "EBITDA" refers to earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, accretion, gain/loss on financial derivatives relating to changes in the fair market value of the fixed interest rate swap, business acquisition costs, debenture issuance costs, gain/loss on debentures relating to changes in their fair values, gain/loss on Unit issuances relating to conversion of debentures, gain/loss on WesternOne Equity's exchangeable units relating to changes in their fair values, unit based compensation, distribution to unitholders, foreign exchange gains/losses, write-down of fleet assets, intangible assets and goodwill, and non-recurring items. "Distributable Cash" refers to cash available for distribution to the unitholders by WesternOne Equity. EBITDA and Distributable Cash are not recognized measures under IFRS and do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. For further description of EBITDA and Distributable Cash refer to "Non-IFRS Measures" in the MD&A dated June 13, 2011. |
| (3) | Amounts calculated using distributable cash and distributions declared for the related period, not on per Unit amounts. Calculated as distribution declared divided by distributable cash generated. |
| (4) | Calculated based on basic weighted average number of units. |
Conference Call
Darren Latoski, CEO, Carlos Yam, CFO and Geoff Shorten, COO, of WesternOne Equity GP Inc. will host a conference call at 4:30pm (Eastern time) or 1:30pm (Pacific time), on Monday, June 13, 2011, to review the financial results and corporate developments for the three months ended March 31, 2011.
To participate in this conference call, please dial one of the following numbers approximately 10 minutes prior to the commencement of the call, and ask to join the WesternOne Equity conference call.
| Dial in numbers: | Toll Free ………...........................................1-888-231-8191 |
| International or Local Toronto………...……..1-647-427-7450 |
Conference Call Replay
If you cannot participate on June 13, a replay of the conference call will be available by dialing one of the following replay numbers. You will be able to dial in and listen to the conference 120 minutes after the meeting end time, and the replay will be available until June 20, 2011. Please enter the Replay ID number 73347806 followed by the # key.
| Replay Dial-In | Toll Free .......................................……........1-800-642-1687 |
| International or Local Toronto…...…………..1-416-849-0833 |
Forward-looking Information
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking" information that involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and it may cause actual results, performance or achievements or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements or industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is 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 information includes, without limitation, statements with respect to: the enhancement of WesternOne Equity's product and service offering and customer base derived from the acquisition of the Britco Group (the "Acquisition") and the benefits that may accrue to WesternOne Equity and its unitholders as a result of the Acquisition. Actual events or results may differ materially.
Forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by WesternOne Equity, including, without limitation, expectations and assumptions respecting: the outlook of WesternOne Equity's business and the Western Canadian economy, the supply and demand for WesternOne Equity's products and services, and management's assessment of future plans and operations. Although the forward-looking information contained in this press release is based upon what the WesternOne Equity's management believes to be reasonable assumptions, WesternOne Equity cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with such information. Forward-looking information reflects current expectations of management regarding future events and operating performance as of the date of this press release. Such information involves significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking information, and a description of these factors can be found under "Risk Factors" in WesternOne Equity's Annual Information Form dated March 31, 2011, which is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to WesternOne Equity. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this press release and WesternOne Equity assumes no obligation to update or revise such information to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by applicable law.
About WesternOne Equity
WesternOne Equity seeks to acquire businesses in the sector of construction and infrastructure services in order to generate stable and growing distributions to its unitholders as well as to achieve overall capital appreciation.
Additional Information
Additional information relating to WesternOne Equity, including WesternOne Equity's Annual Information Form and other public filings, is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on WesternOne Equity's website at www.weq.ca.
Trading Symbols
Toronto Stock Exchange: WEQ.UN, WEQ.DB, WEQ.DB.B and WEQ.DB.C
THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
SOURCE WesternOne Equity Income Fund
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