Cervus Equipment Corp. Announces Third Quarter 2014 Results

Symbol: CVL (TSX)

CALGARY, Nov. 13, 2014 /CNW/ - Cervus Equipment Corp. ("Cervus" or the "Company") (TSX: CVL) today announced its financial results and operational highlights for the quarter ended September 30, 2014.

"Enabled by the strong relationships with our OEMs, Cervus executed on its growth strategy by acquiring Peterbilt of Ontario, further diversifying revenue streams with 13 transportation dealerships in Ontario. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company completed the acquisition of Evergreen Equipment representing four John Deere dealerships. Overall, we increased our Canadian footprint by a total of 17 dealerships in 2014," said Graham Drake, President and CEO of Cervus. "Record third quarter revenues were achieved in our Agriculture segment due to the late harvest, and improved farm cash flow from the resolution of grain transportation issues. Our same store Ag equipment sales year to date 2014 are now within 1.6% of the equipment sales achieved in the nine months ended September 30, 2013."

Highlights of the Quarter:

• On August 11, 2014, the Company acquired the business and assets of Peterbilt of Ontario Inc. ("POI"), adding 13 Peterbilt dealerships throughout Ontario, with average revenues over the past three years of $157 million.
• On September 18, 2014, the Company announced a Definitive Agreement to acquire Evergreen Equipment Ltd. and completed the acquisition subsequent to quarter-end, adding four John Deere dealerships in Alberta with average revenues over the past three years of $87 million.
• Revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2014 was $286.2 million, an increase of $36.8 million, or 14.8%, over the same period in 2013.
• Gross profit dollars increased $4.9 million to $52.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2014, when compared to the period ended September 30, 2013.
• On a same store basis, selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") costs as a percentage of revenue declined to 13.9% for the three month period ended September 30, 2014, compared to 14.1% for the same period in 2013.
• Net profit attributable to shareholders for the three months ended September 30, 2014 decreased $0.9 million to $7.7 million, partly attributable to $1.0 million of acquisition costs in the quarter.
• Dividends of $0.2075 per share were declared to shareholders of record as at September 30, 2014.
• The Company improved to #72 from #78 on the Alberta Venture's 2014 Venture 250 rankings.

As at September 30, 2014, Cervus had working capital of $95.3 million, including $8.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, down $17.9 million compared to $113.2 million at December 31, 2013.

Selected Quarterly Information
		Three months ended September 30						Nine months ended September 30
(in $ thousands, except per share amounts)		2014		2013		% change		2014		2013		% change
Revenues		286,192		249,393		14.8%		690,569		635,325		8.7%
Gross profit		52,345		47,445		10.3%		130,719		120,122		8.8%
Gross profit percentage		18.3%		19.0%		-3.7%		18.9%		18.9%		0.0%
Net profit		7,707		8,741		-11.8%		12,568		16,954		-25.9%
Net profit attributable to shareholders		7,707		8,646		-10.9%		12,492		16,841		-25.8%
	Per share  - Basic	0.51		0.58		-12.1%		0.83		1.13		-26.5%
	Per share - Diluted	0.49		0.55		-10.9%		0.79		1.08		-26.9%
Cash provided (used) in operating activities		22,145		20,046		10.5%		40,831		18,252		123.7%
	Per share - Basic	1.46		1.34		9.0%		2.70		1.22		121.3%
EBITDA^1		17,599		17,242		2.1%		34,902		38,766		-10.0%
EBITDA margin^1		6.1%		6.9%		-11.6%		5.1%		6.1%		-16.4%
	Per share - basic	1.16		1.15		0.9%		2.31		2.59		-10.8%
Dividends declared to shareholders		3,159		2,961		6.7%		9,351		8,756		6.8%
	Per share	0.2075		0.2000		3.7%		0.6150		0.5900		4.2%
Weighted average shares outstanding
	Basic	15,148		14,989		1.1%		15,106		14,955		1.0%
	Diluted	15,884		15,650		1.5%		15,844		15,615		1.5%
Actual shares outstanding		15,156		14,993		1.1%		15,156		14,993		1.1%
	Closing market price per share	18.90		20.79		-9.1%		18.90		20.79		-9.1%
Total assets								604,257		455,311		32.7%
Long-term liabilities								102,372		79,493		28.8%
Total liabilities								382,150		240,601		58.8%
Shareholders' equity								222,107		211,192		5.2%
Net book value per share - diluted								14.02		13.52		3.7%

Notes:  [1] These financial measures are identified and defined under the section "Non-IFRS Financial Measures".

Conference Call Information

Cervus will host its third quarter 2014 results conference call on November 14, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Interested parties may access the conference call by dialling [phone] or 1-888-231-8191. Please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call. The conference call will be archived for replay until Friday, November 21, 2014 at midnight. To access the archived conference call, dial [phone] or 1-855-859-2056 and enter the reservation number 24611500 followed by the number sign. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available at: http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/detail/1431330/1590260. Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast. The webcast will be archived at the above website for 90 days.

About Cervus Equipment Corporation

Cervus acquires and manages authorized agricultural, commercial, industrial and transportation equipment dealerships, with 66 fully owned dealerships and investments in an additional 7 dealerships. These 73 dealerships are located in Canada, New Zealand and Australia, and employ more than 1,700 people. The primary equipment brands represented by Cervus include John Deere agricultural equipment; Bobcat and JCB construction equipment; Clark, Sellick and Doosan material handling equipment; and Peterbilt transportation equipment. Cervus Equipment went public in 2000, and since 2003, the common shares of Cervus Equipment have been listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade under the symbol "CVL."

The Toronto Stock Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

 

 

SOURCE: Cervus Equipment Corporation

Graham Drake - President & CEO
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]

Randy Muth - Chief Financial Officer
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]