Cargojet Reports Stable Q1 Performance

MISSISSAUGA, ON, May 1, 2023 /CNW/ - Cargojet Inc. ("Cargojet" or the "Corporation") (TSX: CJT) announced today financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023. 

Total Revenues for the quarter were $231.9 million compared to first quarter 2022 Revenues of $233.6 million. Gross Margin for the quarter was $45.5 million compared to first quarter 2022 Gross Margin of $66.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ for the quarter was  $75.0 million compared to the first quarter 2022 Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ $83.0 million. Adjusted Free Cash Flow⁽¹⁾ was $42.5 million for the three-month period ended March 31, 2023 compared to  $42.7 million for the same period in 2022.

Net income for the quarter was $30.5 million (net income of $6.0 million excluding warrant valuation gain) compared to net loss of $56.4 million in 2022 (net income of $30.4 million excluding warrant valuation loss).

"Consumers shifted from buying goods to spending on services during the post-pandemic period, prioritizing travel and leisure over the past year. With the re-opening of the economy, there was also a pent-up demand to visit physical stores and experience outdoors. We expect these consumption behaviors to normalize during the latter part of this year, setting the stage for a more balanced mix of spending between goods and services. Our strategy to build a strong ACMI business, on top of our flagship domestic network, has allowed us the stability to ride these volatilities including the current softer economic conditions," said Dr. Ajay Virmani, President and CEO.

"Cargojet is not immune to the softening industry trends as well as the macro factors of slower economic growth, higher interest rates and persistent inflation. Therefore, our team is focused on realigning every aspect of our cost structure with the current demand levels, including realigning our network, significantly improving productivity in our maintenance and operational areas and cutting all discretionary expenditures while maintaining industry best on-time-performance," further noted Dr. Virmani.

"Despite the current softer economic conditions, the long term macro trends that drive our business remain firmly intact. E-commerce, continued demise of shopping malls, further pressure on business district shopping stores driven by remote work and passenger airlines shifting to narrow body aircraft, will continue to lead to increased air-cargo volumes. Cargojet is well positioned with a strong balance sheet and a solid liquidity position to ride this volatile economic environment. With some of the world's biggest package delivery companies as our customers, we expect to resume growth as the economic cycle turns the corner," concluded Dr. Virmani

All references to "$" in this press release are to Canadian dollars.

About Cargojet

Cargojet is Canada's leading provider of time sensitive premium air cargo services to all major cities across North America, providing Dedicated, ACMI and International Charter services and carries over 25,000,000 pounds of cargo weekly. Cargojet operates its network with its own fleet of 40 aircraft.

(1) Non-GAAP Measures

"Adjusted EBITDA", "Adjusted EBITDAR" and "Adjusted Free Cash Flow" are non-GAAP measures used by the Corporation to provide additional information on its financial and operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDAR are not recognized measures for financial statement presentation under Canadian GAAP and it does not have standardized meanings and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other public companies.

Adjusted EBITDA is used by the Corporation to assess earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, gain or loss on disposal of capital assets, unrealized foreign exchange gains or losses, unrealized gain or loss on forward foreign exchange contracts, aircraft heavy maintenance amortization, contract asset amortization, gain or loss on cash settled share based payment arrangement related to a financing arrangement, unrealized gain or loss on fair value of total return swap related to a financing arrangement, gain or loss on fair value of stock warrant, loss on settlement of cash settled share based payment arrangement related to a financing arrangement, gain on settlement of total return swap related to a financing, loss on extinguishment of debts, and non-cash employee pension expense, as these costs can vary significantly among airlines due to differences in the way airlines finance their aircraft and other assets.

The Corporation believes that these alternative measures provide a more consistent basis to compare the performance of the Corporation between the periods. Adjusted EBITDA provide additional information to users of Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") to enhance their understanding of the Company's financial performance.

CALCULATION OF EBITDA, ADJUSTED EBITDA, FREE CASH FLOW AND ADJUSTED FREE CASH FLOW
(Canadian dollars in millions, except where indicated)
	Three Month Period Ended
	March 31,
	2023	2022
	(unaudited)	(unaudited)
Calculation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA
Net earnings	$30.5	$(56.4)
Add:
Interest	10.1	7.0
Provision of deferred taxes	4.1	11.9
Depreciation of property,plant and equipment	40.1	31.5
EBITDA ^(1)	84.8	(6.0)
Add:
Share-based compensation	3.3	4.5
Loss (gain) on swap derivative	7.0	(3.2)
Unrealized foreign exchange gain	-	(0.9)
Fair value adjustment and amortization on stock warrant	(20.7)	87.8
Share of (gain) loss of associate	0.6	0.8
Adjusted EBITDA^(1)	75.0	83.0
Calculation of Standardized Free Cash Flow and Adjusted Free Cash Flow
NET CASH GENERATED FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES	63.1	95.7
Less: Maintenance capital expenditures ^(1)	(23.3)	(37.2)
Standardized free cash flow ^(1)	39.8	58.5
Changes in non-cash working capital items and deposits	2.7	(15.8)
Adjusted free cash flow^(1)	$42.5	$42.7

1. EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Free Cash Flow and Maintenance Capital Expenditure are non-GAAP financial measures and are not earning measures recognized by IFRS. Prior year amounts have been restated to reflect the revised definitions of Adjusted EBITDA. Please refer to Page 15 of this MD&A for a more detailed discussion.   

Adjusted Free Cash Flow is calculated as Standardized Free Cash Flow as defined by CPA Canada, less operating cash flows provided from or used in discontinued operations, changes in working capital, plus the provision for current income taxes. It shows the financial strength of the business.

Notice on Forward Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained herein constitute "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements look into the future and provide an opinion as to the effect of certain events and trends on the business. Forward-looking statements may include words such as "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "should," "estimates," "expects," "believes," "indicates," "targeting," "suggests" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and entail various risks and uncertainties. Reference should be made to the issuer's most recent Annual Information Form (AIF) filed with the Canadian securities regulators, and it's most recent Annual Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto and related Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), for a summary of major risks. Actual results may materially differ from expectations, if known and unknown risks or uncertainties affect our business, or if our estimates or assumptions prove inaccurate. The Company cautions that the list of risk factors and uncertainties described in the AIF and MD&A is not exhaustive and other factors could also adversely affect its results. Readers are urged to consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions carefully in evaluating the forward-looking information and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. The forward-looking information contained herein represents our expectations as of the date hereof (or as the date they are otherwise stated to be made), and are subject to change after such date. However, we disclaim any intention or obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities laws. In the event the issuer does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that the issuer will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statement.

Selected Financial Information and Operating Statistics Highlights

The Financial Information and Operating Statistics Highlights as follows:
(Canadian dollars in millions, except where indicated)
			Three Month Period Ended
			March 31,
			2023	2022	Change	%
	Revenues		$231.9	$233.6	($1.7)	-0.7 %
	Direct expenses		186.4	166.7	19.7	11.8 %
	Gross margin		45.5	66.9	(21.4)	-32.0 %
	Gross margin - (%)		19.6 %	28.6 %	-9.0 %
	Selling, general and administrative expenses		17.7	20.9	(3.2)	-15.3 %
	Net finance costs and other gains and losses		(7.4)	89.7	(97.1)	-108.2 %
	Share of (gain)  loss of associate		0.6	0.8	(0.2)	-25.0 %
	Earnings before income taxes		34.6	(44.5)	79.1	-177.8 %
	Income taxes		4.1	11.9	(7.8)	-65.5 %
	Net earnings		30.5	(56.4)	86.9	154.1 %
	Earnings (loss) per share
		Basic	1.77	(3.26)	5.03	154.3 %
		Diluted	1.67	(3.26)	4.93	151.2 %
		Adjusted ^(1)	0.97	1.56	-0.59	-37.8 %
	EBITDA ^(2)		84.8	(6.0)	90.8	1513.3 %
	EBITDA margin ^(2)- (%)		36.6 %	-2.6 %	39.2 %
	Adjusted EBITDA ^(2)		75.0	83.0	(8.0)	-9.6 %
	Adjusted EBITDA margin ^(2)- (%)		32.3 %	35.5 %	-3.2 %
	Adjusted free cash flow^(2)		$42.5	$42.7	($0.2)	-0.5 %
Operating statistics^(3)
	Operating days ^(4)		50	50	-	-
	Average domestic network revenue per operating day ^(5)		1.68	1.67	0.01	0.6 %
	Block hours ^(6)		17,830	17,704	126	0.7 %
		B757-200	14	9	5	-
		B767-200	4	4	-	-
		B767-300	18	17	1	-
		Passenger aircraft	4	2	2	-
			40	32	8	25.0 %
	Head count		1,771	1,560	211	13.5 %

1.	Adjusted EPS is not an earning measure recognized by IFRS and is defined as earnings per share from continuing operations before fair value increase (decrease) on stock warrant, losses (gains) on swap derivatives, amortization on stock warrants and unrealized foreign exchange losses (gains).
2.	EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow are non-GAAP financial measures and are not earning measures recognized by IFRS. Prior year amounts have been restated to reflect the revised definitions of Adjusted EBITDA. Please refer to the "Non-GAAP measures" section on page 15 of this MD&A for a more detailed discussion and a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the nearest GAAP measure.
3.	The definitions for the Operating statistics included in this table are provided in the notes below.
4.	Operating days refer to the Company's domestic network air cargo network operations that run primarily on Monday to Friday with a reduced network operating on Friday.
5.	Average domestic network revenue per operating day refers to total domestic network revenues earned by the Company per operating day.
6.	Block hours refers to the total duration of a flight from the time the aircraft releases its brakes when it initially moves from the airport parking area prior to flight, to the time the brakes are set when it arrives at the airport parking area after the completion of the flight.

SOURCE Cargojet Inc.

Pauline Dhillon, Chief Corporate Officer, Tel: [phone], [email protected]