Imvescor Reports Improved Financial Results for Second Quarter Fiscal 2015

Operating EBITDA up 4.2%, net earnings up by 19.2% and SRS growth improved 1.7 percentage points

MONTREAL, June 4, 2015 /CNW/ - Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc. ("Imvescor" or the "Company") (TSX: IRG), a leading franchisor of restaurants operating 229 locations in Eastern Canada, reported financial results today for the 13 and 26 weeks ended April 26, 2015 ("Q2 2015"). This press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's management discussion and analysis and financial statements for Q2 2015 which are available on the Company's website at www.imvescor.ca/investor-relations and have been posted on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

"We are at the early stages of implementation on our strategic plan which is focused on growing same restaurant sales, rationalizing expenses, rejuvenating our restaurants and increasing franchisee network profitability," said Frank Hennessey, President and Chief Executive Officer of Imvescor. "System sales were stable, operating EBITDA increased meaningfully versus Q2 2014. Bâton Rouge, Mikes and Pizza Delight all reported positive Same Restaurant Sales. Scores had negative Same Restaurant Sales and management continues to focus on both operational and marketing improvements.  I am also pleased with the early response received from franchisees with regards to our rejuvenation plan and the renewed focus on improving the guest experience."

Q2 2015 Financial and Operational Highlights
(All comparable figures are to second quarter 2014 ("Q2 2014") unless otherwise specified.)

• Operating EBITDA increased by 4.2% to $3.8 million compared to $3.7 million and as a proportion of revenue increased to 34% from 30.8%.
  
  
• Same Restaurant Sales (SRS) was -0.2%, an improvement of 1.7 percentage points compared to Q2 2014.
  
  
• System Sales decreased slightly in Q2 2015 due mainly to 2% fewer operating weeks in 2015.
  
  
• G&A decreased by 9% in Q2 2015 and reorganization costs were $70 thousand in the quarter.
  
  
• Net earnings increased by 19.2% mainly due to a reversal of a prior period tax adjustment.

Q2 2015 and YTD Selected Financial Data
(in thousands of dollars, where applicable)		Q2				YTD
		April 26, 2015	April 27, 2014	% Change		April 26, 2015	April 27, 2014		% Change
System Sales ^(i)		$    89,913	$    90,402	-0.5%		$    179,229	$   181,614		-1.3%
SRS ^(i)		-0.2%	-1.9%	1.7%		-0.5%	-2.7%		2.2%
Number of restaurant operating weeks		2,972	3,042	-2.3%		5,965	6,118		-2.5%
Number of restaurants		229	236	-3.0%		229	236		-3.0%
Revenue		11,312	11,959	-5.4%		22,374	24,340		-8.1%
Cost of goods sold		1,867	2,078	-10.2%		3,684	3,768		-2.2%
General, administrative and franchise support expenses		5,925	6,478	-8.5%		12,531	12,648		-0.9%
Results from operating activities		3,520	3,403	3.4%		6,159	7,924		-22.3%
Operating EBITDA ^(i)		3,844	3,688	4.2%		7,097	7,767		-8.6%
Operating EBITDA as a percentage of revenue		34.0%	30.8%	10.4%		31.7%	31.9%		-0.6%
Net earnings and comprehensive income		2,550	2,139	19.2%		4,126	4,936		-16.4%
Net earnings as a percentage of revenue		22.5%	17.9%	26.0%		18.4%	20.3%		-9.1%
EPS:
	Basic	0.05	0.05	0%		0.09	0.12		-25.0%
	Diluted	0.05	0.04	25.0%		0.08	0.09		-11.1%
Free cash flow		286	93	207.5%		3,898	4,833		-19.3%
Dividends paid		1,947	-	100%		2,876	-		100%
(in thousands of dollars)				Q2 2015			FY2014
			As at April 26, 2015			As at October 26, 2014			% Change
Cash				$    13,407				$   10,398	25.5%
Working capital excluding debt to be refinanced				6,740				3,238	108.2%
Total debt				29,133				30,540	-4.6%

(i) System Sales, SRS, Operating EBITDA and Free cash flow are non-IFRS measures. Please refer to the "Non-IFRS Measures and Financial Metrics"
section of this press release for the definitions.

Outlook

The Company's strategic plan consists of three key initiatives: (1) growing Same Restaurant Sales; (2) rejuvenating our restaurants and improving franchisee profitability; and (3) enhancing and leveraging our shared services through optimization and expense rationalization.

The Company is currently negotiating a new credit agreement and is confident that it will have a successful resolution.

Management believes that the current environment of overall lower interest rates and general higher consumer confidence in eastern Canada is beneficial to Imvescor and its franchisees as they undertake their plans to rejuvenate their network.

Dividend Declaration

Pursuant to its previously announced dividend policy, the board of directors (the "Board") today declared a dividend of $0.02 per common share. The quarterly cash dividend will be paid on July 2, 2015 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 18, 2015.

The declaration and payment of any future dividend remains at the discretion of the Board and will depend on the Company's current and anticipated cash requirements and surplus, capital expenditures requirements, regulatory restrictions, financial results, future prospects, current and future contractual restrictions such as restrictions under credit or other arrangements, the satisfaction of solvency tests imposed by the Canada Business Corporations Act for the declaration of dividends and other factors deemed relevant by the Board. Any dividend policy established by the Board, including the Company's current dividend policy can be changed at any time and is not binding on the Company. There can be no guarantee that the Company will maintain its current dividend policy or any dividend policy or that any dividend will be declared or paid.

Conference Call Details

Frank Hennessey, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Tania M. Clarke, Chief Financial Officer will host an investor conference call to discuss Q2 2015 results at 8:30 am E.S.T on Thursday, June 4, 2015. To access the conference call by telephone, dial 1-888-231-8191 (Toll-Free), [phone] (Montreal) or 647-427-7450 (Toronto). 

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available at www.imvescor.ca/investor-relations. A recording of the conference call will be archived for replay by telephone until Thursday, June 11, 2015 at midnight. To access the archived conference call, dial 1-855-859-2056 (Toll-Free), 514-807-9274 (Montreal) or 416-849-0833 (Toronto) and enter the reservation number 52010338. 

About Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc. Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc. is a dynamic and innovative organisation in the family and casual dining restaurant industry. The Company is a franchise and licensing business that operates restaurants in Eastern Canada under four banners: Pizza Delight^®, operating primarily in Atlantic Canada, in the family/mid-scale segment, Mikes^® and Scores^®, operating primarily in Québec in the family and casual dining segments and the take-out and delivery segments, and Bâton Rouge^®, operating in Québec, Ontario and Nova Scotia in the casual dining segment. The Company also licenses to third parties the right to manufacture and sell prepared food products under the Pizza Delight^®, Mikes^®, Scores^® and Bâton Rouge^® brands and through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Groupe Commensal Inc. manufactures and sells vegetarian branded food products in grocery stores and retail outlets under the Commensal^® brand.

Non- IFRS Measures and Financial Metrics: The information contained in this press release includes some figures that are not performance measures consistent with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"). Because they do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS, they may not be comparable with similar measures presented by other issuers. 

"Operating EBITDA" is defined as earnings or loss before interest income, interest expense, depreciation and amortization, income tax expense, gain or loss on redemption of debentures, impairment or impairment reversal of long-lived assets, impairment or impairment reversal of Imvescor rights, gain or losses on sale of property and equipment, change in onerous contract provisions, costs of special committee, goodwill, bargain purchase gains, reorganization costs, gain or loss on derivative financial liability and earnings or loss from discontinued operations. The definition of Operating EBITDA can change from time to time to account for unusual items or items not considered to be consistent with the Company's normal recurring operations.

"System Sales" is the aggregate sales achieved by all "Pizza Delight", "Mikes", "Scores" and "Bâton Rouge" restaurants, whether they are company-owned restaurants or franchises.  This performance measure indicates the Company's overall growth and reflects the direct impact of the restaurant openings and closures. 

"Same Restaurant Sales" or "SRS" is a metric used in the restaurant industry to compare sales earned in established locations over a certain period of time, such as a fiscal quarter, for the current period against sales in the same period in the previous year. SRS growth helps explain what portion of sales growth can be attributed to growth in established locations. The Company defines SRS growth as sales generated by stores that have been open for at least one fiscal year compared to the sales from the same group of restaurants in the comparable period.  The Company believes this is a meaningful measure of operating performance.

"Free cash flow" is defined as cash from operating activities less cash used in the purchases of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, the Company's business objectives, estimates, outlook, strategies and priorities and all other statements other than statements of historical facts. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "may", "should", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "outlook" and similar expressions. All such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of applicable securities laws.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors outside the Company's control. A number of factors could cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the Company's dependence on royalty stream, risks associated with quality control, food borne illnesses and health concerns, adverse changes to economic conditions, potential litigation and other complaints, the Company's ability to respond to various competitive factors affecting its operations, the impact of an increase in Company-owned restaurants, compliance with government regulations, the impact of sales tax upon system sales, the Company's dependence on key personnel and third parties, the closure of restaurants, changes in laws concerning employees, changes in the Company's relationships with its employees, changes in consumer preferences, the availability and quality of raw materials, franchise development and growth of the Company's royalties, risks associated with franchise regulations, compliance with regulations governing alcoholic beverages, the protection of the Company's intellectual property, the Company's retail products dependence on the strength of the Company's restaurant brands, environmental risks and regulations, the Company's dependence on technology, inherent risks associated with internal control over financing reporting, the indebtedness of the Company and the restrictive covenants to which it is subject and the risk associated with the Company's dividend policy and other factors referenced in the Company's Annual Information Form and the Company's other continuous disclosure filings which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These factors and assumptions are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors and assumptions that could affect the Company. These factors and assumptions, however, should be considered carefully

Forward-looking statements are provided herein for the purpose of giving information about the Company's current strategic priorities, expectations and plans, allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of the Company's business outlook and operating environment. Readers are cautioned, however, that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes and should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. Except as otherwise indicated, forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any nonrecurring or other special items or of any transactions that may be announced or that may occur after the date of this press release. The financial impact of these transactions and non-recurring and other special items can be complex and depends on the facts particular to each of them. The Company therefore cannot describe the expected impact in a meaningful way or in the same way it presents known risks affecting the business. The Company's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Pizza Delight^®: www.pizzadelight.com
Mikes^®: www.mikes.ca
Scores^®: www.scores.ca
Bâton Rouge^®: www.batonrouge.ca

SOURCE Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc.

Frank Hennessey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tania M. Clarke, Chief Financial Officer, Imvescor Restaurant Group Inc., http://www.imvescor.ca, 514-341-5544; Media Relations: Daniel Granger, ACJ Communication, Tél. [phone]; Investor Relations: [email protected]