Boyd Group Income Fund Reports Third Quarter Results

/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES./

- Continued growth in revenue and adjusted EBITDA despite headwinds of hurricanes and currency - 

WINNIPEG, Nov. 8, 2017 /CNW/ - Boyd Group Income Fund (TSX: BYD.UN) ("the Fund", "the Boyd Group" or "Boyd") today reported its financial results for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2017. The Fund's third quarter 2017 financial statements and MD&A have been filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). This news release is not in any way a substitute for reading the Boyd Group's financial statements, including notes to the financial statements, and Management's Discussion & Analysis. 

Q3 2017 Highlights 

View PDF

Boyd Group Income Fund Reports Third Quarter Results (CNW Group/Boyd Group Income Fund)

• Sales increased by 13.5% to $391.9 million from $345.3 million in 2016
• Same-store sales declined by 0.5% on a reported basis. After adjusting for one less selling/production day same-store sales increased 1.1% on a per day basis
• Adjusted EBITDA¹ increased 12.5% to $35.6 million, compared with $31.6 million in 2016
• Financial results were meaningfully impacted by Hurricane Irma, and to a lesser degree Hurricane Harvey with an estimated impact of $5.0 million on sales, 1.5% on same-store sales, $2.8 million on adjusted EBITDA¹; $1.7 million on adjusted net earnings¹; and $0.091 on adjusted net earnings per unit¹
• Currency negatively impacted same-store sales by $12.3 million, Adjusted EBITDA¹ by $1.2 million, adjusted net earnings¹ by $0.7 million, and adjusted earnings per unit¹ by $0.039
• Adjusted net earnings¹ decreased 4.6% to $12.5 million compared with $13.1 million in 2016 and adjusted net earnings per unit¹ decreased 7.3% to $0.671 compared with $0.724 in 2016. The positive contributions from new locations, including Assured Automotive Inc. ("Assured"), on adjusted net earnings and adjusted net earnings per unit were more than offset by the impact of hurricanes and currency
• Added 76 locations, including the acquisition of Assured, with 68 locations including 30 dealership intake centres
• Gerber Glass exercised its call option to acquire the 30% non-controlling interest in Glass America

Subsequent to Quarter End

• Added 10 locations, which included entering the state of Tennessee through the acquisition of a multi-store operation with nine locations, as well as a single location in Ontario to leverage the acquisition of Assured
• Completed the early redemption and cancellation of the 5.25% Convertible Unsecured Subordinated Debentures due October 31, 2021
• Announced a distribution increase of 2.3% to $0.528 per unit annualized from $0.516 per unit

"In the third quarter of 2017 we continued to deliver solid results despite facing significant headwinds from hurricanes and the strengthening Canadian dollar, which is a demonstration of the resilience of our business model and the effectiveness of our strategy," said Brock Bulbuck, CEO of the Boyd Group Income Fund. "In addition we made several key acquisitions that provide us with a broader market presence and enhanced positioning for further growth. Based on our continued growth and the strength of our business the Board has decided to increase our monthly distributions – the 10th consecutive year they have done so."

Results of Operations	For the three months ended September 30			For the nine months ended September 30
(thousands of Canadian dollars, except per unit amounts)	2017	% change	2016	2017	% change	2016
Sales – Total	391,933	13.5	345,309	1,154,829	12.5	1,026,670
Same-store sales – Total (excluding foreign exchange)	334,329	(0.5)	335,842	992,142	1.0	982,600
Gross margin %	45.7	(0.9)	46.1	45.9	0.2	45.8
Operating expense %	36.6	(0.8)	36.9	36.9	0.3	36.8
Adjusted EBITDA^1	35,561	12.5	31,620	103,825	13.3	91,621
Acquisition and transaction costs	670	9.7	611	1,286	15.8	1,111
Depreciation and amortization	11,186	31.6	8,498	29,561	22.7	24,085
Fair value adjustments	(12,262)	N/A	6,218	867	N/A	16,924
Finance costs	8,199	237.8	2,427	13,713	88.7	7,267
Income tax expense	7,933	7.3	7,392	23,130	14.1	20,266
Adjusted net earnings^1	12,473	(4.6)	13,069	41,410	4.8	39,530
Adjusted net earnings per unit^1	0.671	(7.3)	0.724	2.270	3.5	2.194
Net earnings	19,835	N/A	6,474	35,268	N/A	21,968
Basic earnings per unit	1.067	N/A	0.358	1.933	N/A	1.219
Diluted earnings per unit	0.396	N/A	0.158	1.598	N/A	1.020
Standardized distributable cash^1	6,852	(21.4)	8,713	55,582	25.3	44,365
Adjusted distributable cash^1	6,463	(20.4)	8,122	53,550	28.1	41,816
Distributions and dividends paid	2,407	4.4	2,306	7,127	3.9	6,860
1. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for the fair value adjustments related to the exchangeable share liability, unit option liability, convertible debenture conversion features and non-controlling interest put option and call liability, as well as acquisition and transaction costs), distributable cash, adjusted distributable cash, adjusted net earnings and adjusted net earnings per unit are not recognized measures under International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Management believes that in addition to sales, net earnings and cash flows, the supplemental measures of distributable cash, adjusted distributable cash, adjusted net earnings, adjusted net earnings per unit, 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, adjusted distributable cash, adjusted net earnings and adjusted net earnings per unit should not be construed as an alternative to net earnings determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of the Fund's performance. Boyd's method of calculating these measures 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 non-GAAP measures are calculated, please refer to the Fund's MD&A filing for the period ended September 30, 2017, which can be accessed via the SEDAR Web site (www.sedar.com).

Outlook

"Notwithstanding some of the unusual challenges that we faced in the third quarter, we are confident that we are on track to achieve our long-term goals, including doubling the size of our business on a constant currency basis from 2015 to 2020," added Mr. Bulbuck. "We do expect we will continue to face headwinds from the lower value of the U.S. dollar relative to the Canadian dollar in comparison to Q4 2016; however, the positive industry trends that drive organic growth, our strong balance sheet with over $400 million of "dry powder" and our track record of successful growth, continue to position us well to deliver value enhancing growth into the future."

2017 Third Quarter Conference Call & Webcast

Management will hold a conference call on Wednesday, November 8, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. (ET) to review the Fund's 2017 third quarter results. You can join the call by dialing 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 Friday, November 15, at midnight by calling 1-855-859-2056 or 416-849-0833, reference number 96571613.                     

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. 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 Inc.
The Boyd Group Inc. (the "Company"), directly and through subsidiaries, is one of the largest operators of non-franchised collision repair centres in North America in terms of number of locations and sales. The Company operates locations in five Canadian provinces under the trade names Boyd Autobody & Glass (http://www.boydautobody.com) and Assured Automotive (http://www.assuredauto.ca), as well as in 21 U.S. states under the trade name Gerber Collision & Glass (http://www.gerbercollision.com). The Company uses newly acquired brand names during a transition period until acquired locations have been rebranded. The Company is also a major retail auto glass operator in the U.S. with locations across 31 U.S. states under the trade names Gerber Collision & Glass, Glass America, Auto Glass Service, Auto Glass Authority and Autoglassonly.com. The Company also operates a third party administrator, Gerber National Claims Services ("GNCS"), that offers glass, emergency roadside and first notice of loss services. GNCS has approximately 5,500 affiliated glass provider locations and 4,600 affiliated emergency roadside services providers throughout the U.S. For more information on The Boyd Group Inc. or Boyd Group Income Fund, please visit our website at (http://www.boydgroup.com).

To view Boyd Group Income Fund's Q3 2017 financial statements and notes, please click here: http://files.newswire.ca/698/BGIF_Q3_2017.pdf

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: dependence upon The Boyd Group Inc. and its Subsidiaries; operational performance; acquisition risk; employee relations and staffing; brand management and reputation; market environment change; foreign currency risk; loss of key customers; decline in number of insurance claims; margin pressure; reliance on technology; weather conditions; competition; access to capital; dependence on key personnel; tax position risk; quality of corporate governance; economic downturn; increased government regulation and tax risk; environmental, health and safety risk; fluctuations in operating results and seasonality; risk of litigation; execution on new strategies; insurance risk; cash distributions not guaranteed; unitholder limited liability is subject to contractual and statutory assurances that may have some enforcement risks; mass redemptions; real estate management; single DRP in a market; parts sourcing by clients; geographic concentration; low capture rates; interest rates; U.S. health care costs and workers compensation claims; energy costs; capital expenditures; 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. 

SOURCE Boyd Group Income Fund

Brock Bulbuck, CEO, Tel: [phone], [email protected]; Craig MacPhail, Investor Relations, Tel: [phone] or toll free 1-800-385-5451, [email protected]; Pat Pathipati, Executive Vice President & CFO, Tel: [phone] (ext. 33841), [email protected]