Petrowest Corporation Announces Record First Quarter 2014 Financial Results

CALGARY, May 12, 2014 /CNW/ - Petrowest Corporation ("Petrowest") (TSX:PRW) announced today its consolidated financial results for the three month period ended March 31, 2014.

Rick Quigley, Chief Executive Officer, stated that "We are very pleased with the record first quarter financial results. Both revenue and adjusted EBIDTA were the highest ever achieved in the first quarter. We continue to increase our fleet of heavy equipment and continue to have increased activity in northeastern British Columbia." Mr. Quigley further stated that "our backlog remains very strong, and during the quarter we had solid performance in the Civil division as a result of additional work on the Highway 63 upgrading projects."

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

In Q1 2014, the Company:

• Reported  revenue of $61.1 million, an increase of $15.1 million compared to the same quarter in 2013,
• Reported  Adjusted EBITDA of $11.1 million compared to $6.2 million in Q1 2013,
• Reported Adjusted EBITDA margin of 18.1% compared to 13.6% in the same quarter in 2013,
• Completed a significant amount of the crushing sub-contracts awarded on the expansion of the Highway 63 project; and
  

FINANCIAL RESULTS

				Three months ended March 31,
($000's)				2014	2013
Revenue				61,060	45,926
Operating expense				48,123	38,248
Gross margin^1				12,937	7,678
General and administrative^2				1,884	1,430
Adjusted EBITDA^1				11,053	6,248
Amortization of property and equipment				4,991	4,728
Amortization of intangible assets				199	176
Share-based compensation				308	233
(Gain) loss on disposal of property and equipment				(47)	103
Foreign exchange loss				-	642
Operating profit (loss)				5,602	366
Net finance expense				1,067	5,805
Loss on fair value of financial instruments				-	4
Net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) before income tax				4,535	(5,443)
Deferred income tax expense (recovery)				1,009	(1,139)
Net and comprehensive income (loss)				3,526	(4,304)
Total assets				142,701	136,771
Total long-term liabilities				51,474	64,141
Funds from Operations				10,125	3,508

SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND NON-IFRS MEASURES

Selected financial information for the three month period ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 is set out above and includes the following non-IFRS financial measures: Gross margin, Gross margin percentage, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA margin percentage and Funds from Operations. This information should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and the Company's Management, Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A"), available under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Further information respecting the non-IFRS financial measures is contained in the Company's MD&A.

ADVANCE NOTICE BY-LAW

The Company also announced today that the Board of Directors has approved the adoption of an advance notice by-law (the "Advance Notice By-law") which requires advance notice to Petrowest in circumstances where nominations of persons for election to the Board are made by shareholders other than pursuant to a requisition of a meeting or a shareholder proposal made pursuant to the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (Alberta) ("ABCA").

Among other things, the Advance Notice By-law fixes a deadline by which shareholders must submit a notice of director nominations to Petrowest prior to any annual or special meeting of shareholders where directors are to be elected and sets forth the information that a shareholder must include in the written notice for it to be valid.  In the case of an annual meeting of shareholders, written notice to Petrowest must be made not less than 30 nor more than 65 days prior to the date of the annual meeting of shareholders.  In the case of a special meeting (which is not also an annual meeting) of shareholders called for the purpose of electing directors, (whether or not called for other purposes), written notice to the Petrowest must be made not later than the close of business on the 15th day following the date on which the first public announcement of the date of the special meeting of shareholders was made.

The purpose of the Advance Notice By-law is to ensure that all shareholders, including those participating in a meeting by proxy rather than in person, receive adequate notice of the nominations to be considered at a meeting and can thereby exercise their voting rights in an informed manner.  The Advance Notice By-Law is effective immediately. At the next annual meeting of shareholders of Petrowest to be held on June 17, 2014, the shareholders will be asked to confirm the Advance Notice By-law.  A copy of the Advance Notice By-law has been filed under Petrowest's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and  phrases such as "anticipate",  "achievable",  "believe", "expect",  "estimate",  "plan",  "intend",  "project",  "may",  "should",  "could",  "predict",  "will",  or similar words suggesting future outcomes or language suggesting an outlook. Forward-looking statements and information are based on Petrowest's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Petrowest concerning anticipated business performance. Although management of Petrowest considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements are subject to many external variables that are beyond Petrowest's control, such as fluctuating prices for crude oil and natural gas, changes in drilling activity, and general local and global economic, political, business and weather conditions. If any of these or other uncertainties materialize, the actual results of Petrowest may vary materially from those expected.

ABOUT PETROWEST

Petrowest is an Alberta corporation involved in pre-drilling and post-completion energy services as well as industrial and civil infrastructure projects, gravel crushing and hauling for non-energy sector customers. Petrowest's primary operations are based in the Grande Prairie area of northern Alberta and in northeastern British Columbia.

SOURCE: Petrowest Corporation

please contact Richard Quigley, President and Chief Executive Officer, at [phone], or Ian Hogg, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, at [phone], or Lloyd Wiggins, Chief Financial Officer, at [phone], or [email protected].