BOYD GROUP INCOME FUND REPORTS RECORD THIRD QUARTER RESULTS

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-     Fund Trustees approve twelfth consecutive increase to distributions   -

WINNIPEG, Nov. 10 /CNW/ - Boyd Group Income Fund (TSX: BYD.UN) ("the Fund" or "the Boyd Group") today reported its financial results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2010. The Fund's complete fiscal 2010 third quarter financial statements and MD&A have been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Boyd Group also announced that the Trustees of the Fund have approved a 4.3% increase in monthly distributions from $0.02875 per unit to $0.03 per unit commencing January 2011 for unitholders of record on December 31, 2010.

Q3 2010 Highlights

• Sales increased by 32.1% to $69.0 million from $52.2 million in Q3 2009, primarily due to two months of sales contribution from True2Form Collision Repair Centers, Inc. ("True2Form"), acquired at the end of July
• Same-store sales increased by 4.9%, excluding the impact of foreign exchange translation
• Gross margin improved to 45.7% compared with 44.9% in Q3 2009
• EBITDA¹ totalled $5.0 million compared with Adjusted EBITDA¹ of $3.8 million in Q3 2009 despite a $0.6-million negative impact of foreign exchange translation
• Adjusted distributable cash² totalled $5.7 million compared with $2.8 million in Q3 2009
• Payout ratio of 16.9% compared with 28.6% in Q3 2009
• Net earnings were $3.2 million, or 4.6% of sales, compared with $2.2 million, or 4.3% of sales, in Q3 2009

"Once again, we are pleased to report record sales, net earnings, EBITDA, and operating cash flow during the quarter," said Brock Bulbuck, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Boyd Group. "As a result of continued operational efficiencies and cash flow strength, we have announced a further 4.3% increase in our monthly distributions, which represents the twelfth consecutive quarterly increase."

"In addition to posting record results this quarter, we have made significant progress in integrating True2Form Collision Repair Centers, Inc., one of the largest multi-location collision repair companies in the United States. As a result of this acquisition, we are now the largest multi-site operator of automotive collision repair service centers in North America by number of locations, currently with 133 locations.  We believe we are well positioned to capitalize on our size as the collision repair industry continues to consolidate repair volume with a fewer number of large collision repair companies," added Mr. Bulbuck.

Financial Results

Three Months Ended September 30, 2010

Sales for the three months ended September 30, 2010 increased by 32.1% to $69.0 million, compared with sales of $52.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009, after adjusting for the effect of discontinued operations. The increase consisted of $16.2 million in sales generated from True2Form and other new collision repair start-ups, $2.5 million in same-store sales growth offset by $1.9 million due to a lower U.S. dollar translation rate on sales generated from Boyd Group's U.S. operations. 

On a segmented basis, sales in Canada totalled $17.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2010, an increase of $0.4 million or 2.5%. Sales growth in Canada was due entirely to same-store sales increases.

Sales in the U.S. totalled $51.2 million in the third quarter of 2010, an increase of $16.4 million, or 46.9%, over the same period in 2009. Sales in the U.S. included sales of $13.4 million from True2Form as well $2.8 million from new locations in Glendale, Arizona; Anthem, Arizona; Rome, Georgia; Avondale, Arizona; three new locations in Tucson, Arizona; Cartersville, Georgia; Owasso, Oklahoma; Evanston, Illinois; Las Vegas, Nevada; and two new locations in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Translation of U.S. revenues at a weaker U.S. dollar exchange rate relative to the Canadian dollar resulted in a decrease of $1.9 million. Excluding the impact of currency translation, same-store sales in the U.S. increased by $2.1 million or 6.1% when compared with Q3 2009.

Earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") for the third quarter of 2010 totalled $5.0 million, or 7.3% of sales, compared with EBITDA adjusted for discontinued operations ("Adjusted EBITDA") of $3.8 million, or 7.3% of sales, during the same period a year ago.  Changes in the U.S. dollar negatively impacted EBITDA by $0.6 million in Q3 2010 in comparison to Q3 2009.  This decline was more than offset by the impact of sales from new locations, same-store sales growth, and improvements in gross margin percentage.

For the three months ended September 30, 2010, net earnings after discontinued operations were $3.2 million, or $0.267 per diluted unit and Class A common share, compared with net earnings of $2.2 million, or $0.188 per diluted unit and Class A common share, for the same period in 2009.

During the third quarter of 2010, the Fund generated adjusted distributable cash of $5.7 million, which includes adjustments for the collection of additional prepaid rebates, cash flow used in discontinued operations, proceeds on the sale of equipment, and capital lease repayments. The Fund paid distributions of $1.0 million, representing a payout ratio of 16.9% for the quarter.

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2010

Sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 increased by 3.1% to $176.0 million, compared with $170.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2009, after adjusting for the effect of discontinued operations. The increase consisted of $20.8 million in sales generated from True2Form and other new collision repair start-ups, partially offset by the result by a lower U.S. dollar translation rate on sales generated from Boyd Group's U.S. operations of $13.5 million and $1.9 million due to a 1.1% same-store sales decline. 

On a segmented basis, sales in Canada decreased by 4.6% to $53.2 million in the first nine months of 2010 compared with sales of $55.8 million for the same period a year ago. The decrease in sales was due to same-store sales declines in the first half of the year, partially offset by same-store increases in the third quarter.    

Sales in the U.S. increased by 6.9% to $122.8 million in the first nine months of 2010 compared with $114.8 million for the same period a year ago. Sales in the U.S. included sales of $13.4 million from True2Form as well as $7.4 million from 13 other new locations.  Translation of U.S. revenues at a weaker U.S. dollar exchange rate relative to the Canadian dollar resulted in a decrease of $13.5 million. Excluding the impact of foreign currency translation, same-store sales in the U.S. increased by $0.7 million, or 0.6%, compared with the same period in the prior year.

Adjusted EBITDA for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2010 increased by 7.5% to $11.9 million, or 6.8% of sales, compared with Adjusted EBITDA of $11.1 million, or 6.5% of sales, in the same period a year ago. Changes in the U.S. dollar negatively impacted EBITDA by $1.7 million.  This decline was more than offset by the impact of sales from new locations, and improvements in gross margin percentage.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2010, net earnings after discontinued operations were $7.1 million or $0.614 per unit (basic) and $0.602 per unit (diluted), compared with net earnings of $6.3 million or $0.538 per unit (basic) and $0.533 per unit (diluted), in the same period a year ago.

In the first nine months of 2010, the Fund generated adjusted distributable cash of $11.0 million, which includes adjustments for the collection of additional prepaid rebates, cash flow used in discontinued operations, proceeds on the sale of equipment, and capital lease repayments. The Fund paid distributions of $2.7 million, representing a payout ratio of 24.8% for the period.

As at September 30, 2010, the Fund had total debt outstanding, net of cash, of $19.4 million, compared with $13.4 million at June 30, 2010, $13.6 million at March 31, 2010, $16.7 million at December 31, 2009 and $17.2 million at September 30, 2009. The increase in the third quarter of 2010 was primarily due to the Company incurring approximately $7.0 million in new U.S. senior term debt and a $2.1 million vendor take-back note as part of the True2Form acquisition; partially offset by growth in the Company's cash position. 

Outlook

"We are encouraged by the initial results of our integration of True2Form, as well as improvements in same-store sales growth rates in both the U.S. and Canada. We expect to continue to evaluate strategic opportunities that will help us achieve our growth targets. While our objective continues to be to gradually increase distributions to unitholders over time, we are also committed to a conservative distribution policy that will provide us financial flexibility, the ability to support our growth initiatives, and the ability to maintain distribution levels into 2011 despite any trust taxes that may be payable on distributions under the Tax Fairness Law," Mr. Bulbuck added. "We will, therefore, continue our prudent approach in evaluating the appropriateness of distribution increases in the future."

Q3 2010 Results Conference Call & Webcast

Management will hold a conference call on Wednesday, November 10, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. (ET) to review the Fund's 2010 third quarter financial results. You can join the call by dialling 888-231-8191 or 647-427-7450. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available through www.boydgroup.com. An archived replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days. A taped replay of the conference call will also be available until Wednesday, November 17, 2010, at midnight by calling 800-642-1687 or 416-849-0833, reference number 17815199.

(¹)(²) EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, distributable cash and adjusted distributable cash are not recognized measures under Canadian generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Management believes that in addition to revenue, net earnings and cash flows, the supplemental measures of distributable cash, adjusted distributable cash, EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are useful as they provide investors with an indication of earnings from operations and cash available for distribution, both before and after debt management, productive capacity maintenance and non-recurring and other adjustments. Investors should be cautioned, however, that EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, distributable cash and adjusted distributable cash should not be construed as an alternative to net earnings determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of the Fund's performance. Boyd's method of calculating distributable cash and adjusted distributable cash may differ from other public issuers and, accordingly, may not be comparable to similar measures used by other issuers. For a detailed explanation of how the Fund's distributable cash and adjusted distributable cash is calculated, please refer to the Fund's MD&A filing for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2010, which can be accessed via the SEDAR Web site (www.sedar.com).

To view Boyd Group Income Fund's Q3 2010 financial statements and notes, please click here: http://files.newswire.ca/698/BYD_Q3_2010_Financials_and_notes_-_FINAL.pdf

About The Boyd Group Inc.

The Boyd Group Inc. is the largest operator of collision repair centres in North America. The Company operates locations in the four Western Canadian provinces under the trade name Boyd Autobody & Glass, as well as in eleven U.S. states under the trade names Gerber Collision & Glass and True2Form. The Company also operates Gerber National Glass Services, an auto glass repair and replacement referral business with approximately 3,000 affiliated service providers throughout the United States. For more information on The Boyd Group Inc. or Boyd Group Income Fund, please visit our website at www.boydgroup.com. 

About The Boyd Group Income Fund

The Boyd Group Income Fund is an unincorporated, open-ended mutual fund trust created for the purposes of acquiring and holding certain investments, including a majority interest in The Boyd Group Inc. and its subsidiaries. The Boyd Group Income Fund units trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol BYD.UN.

Caution concerning forward-looking statements
Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical financial information, may be forward-looking and therefore subject to various risks and uncertainties. Some forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "may", "will", "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", or "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements, as actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Factors that could cause results to vary include, but are not limited to: the economic downturn; loss of key customers; fluctuations in cash distributions; dependence on the Fund's operating subsidiary to pay its interest obligations; loss of services of key senior management personnel; damage to the Company's brand; variation in the number of insurance claims; margin pressure; management of credit and refinancing risks; responding to changes in the market environment; technology risks; the management of key supplier relationships; capital expenditures; competition from established competitors and new entrants in the businesses in which the Company operates; employee relations; the ability to complete acquisitions of collision repair facilities and other businesses and to integrate these acquisitions successfully; the ability to identify start-up locations and reach anticipated profitability levels; potential discovery of undisclosed liabilities associated with acquisitions; energy costs; weather conditions; operational and infrastructure risks including possible equipment failure and performance of information technology systems; fluctuations in operating results and seasonality; ability to expand into the United States; insurance coverage of sufficient scope to satisfy any liability claims; environmental, health & safety risk; interest rate fluctuations and general economic conditions; quality of corporate governance; pending and proposed legislative or regulatory developments including the impact of changes in laws, regulations and the enforcement thereof; quality of internal control systems; fluctuations in foreign currencies; fluctuations in the cost of benefit plans; impact of government owned insurance; and the possible impacts from public health emergencies, international conflicts and other developments including those relating to terrorism; and the Fund's success in anticipating and managing the foregoing risks.

We caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive and that when reviewing our forward-looking statements, investors and others should refer to the "Risk Factors" section of the Fund's Annual Information Form, the "Risks and Uncertainties" and other sections of our Management's Discussion and Analysis of Operating Results and Financial Position and our other periodic filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities. All forward-looking statements presented herein should be considered in conjunction with such filings.

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