Student Transportation announces fiscal 2009 year end results
BARRIE, ON,
Revenue increased 11.1 percent year over year to
"We are extremely pleased with our operating performance and financial results for fiscal 2009 considering a very tough economy this past year. STA has not only weathered the economic storm of the past year but has sustained the steady, consistent growth in revenues and EBITDAR that have set our company apart from others since our inception 13 years ago," said Denis J. Gallagher, STA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our margins remained consistent year over year and we had our lowest ever payout ratio of 72.5 percent, despite the negative impact of currency fluctuations on the translation of the Company's Canadian operations year over year. We saw fuel prices come down in the second half of the year and we have secured fixed priced vendor contracts for the 2010 fiscal year that provide for lower average prices and are less volatile than the financial fuel hedges utilized in fiscal 2009."
School bus transportation revenue and EBITDAR for fiscal 2009 increased
The Company previously reported that it has fuel mitigation features in approximately 60 percent of its school customer contracts reflecting some form of protection against fuel price increases. For fiscal 2009, the Company entered into financial fuel hedge contracts to cover an additional 20 percent of its fuel exposure at the beginning of the fiscal year. As a result of declining fuel prices during the year, fuel costs declined
The Company generated cash available for distributions* of
Net loss for fiscal year 2009 amounted to
"Our ongoing regional growth plan was highlighted in fiscal 2009 by one key acquisition, which opened up a new territory in south-western Ontario, and five bids wins, two of which were nice tuck-ins to existing locations. While these strategic moves helped fuel our rise to the number three spot among the largest school bus companies in
"This past year has been an exciting one for STA and the coming fiscal year promises to be even more successful. We have favourable credit agreements in place to take advantage of market opportunities and already have announced the acquisition of Jordon Transportation, our first of the new fiscal year. We have secured six new bid wins in the U.S. and were awarded additional routes in
Reconciliation of Net Income and EBITDAR
(in 000's of US$)
Year over Year - Q4 Year over Year - YTD
--------------------- ---------------------
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
--------------------- ---------------------
6/30/09 6/30/08 6/30/09 6/30/08
------- ------- ------- -------
Net income (loss) $ 7,010 $ 2,654 $ (6,802) $ (6,975)
Add back:
Provision for (recovery of)
income taxes 6,083 1,268 (638) (4,627)
Loss on extinguishment of
debt - - 1,316 10,662
Other income, net (4,230) (385) (5,847) (2,006)
Unrealized (gain) loss on
derivative contracts (6,519) (797) 7,658 91
Non-cash stock compensation - - 1,951 1,412
Interest expense 2,365 2,925 10,403 13,532
Impairment of goodwill (oil
and gas reporting unit) - - 4,455 -
Amortization expense 724 602 2,694 2,551
Depreciation and depletion
expense 7,417 7,736 25,973 22,933
Operating lease expense 1,066 645 3,542 2,579
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
EBITDAR $ 13,916 $ 14,648 $ 44,705 $ 40,152
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Reconciliation of Cash Flow Provided by Operations and Cash Available for
Distributions
(in 000's of US$)
Three Three Twelve Twelve
Months Months Months Months
Ended Ended Ended Ended
6/30/09 6/30/08 6/30/09 6/30/08
------- ------- ------- -------
Cash flows provided by
operating activities $ 17,970 $ 7,675 $ 35,541 $ 22,364
Adjustments:
Changes in non-cash working
capital items (5,061) 2,002 (307) 1,615
Changes in other assets and
liabilities 35 (359) 20 189
Non-operating cash flows 1,950 231 1,877 486
Cash interest expense 2,172 2,783 9,657 12,847
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Subtotal 17,066 12,332 46,788 37,501
Less:
Interest expense (other than
noncash and IPS
Subordinated Notes) (1,008) (1,270) (4,922) (5,989)
Dividends on Class B-Series
Two common shares (137) (231) (576) (486)
Repurchase of Class B-Series
Two common shares - - (885) -
Cash taxes paid (560) (350) (1,129) (431)
Maintenance capital
expenditures, net (88) (95) (5,853) (3,629)
------------------------- ----------------------
Cash Available for
Distributions US$ $ 15,273 $ 10,386 $ 33,423 $ 26,966
Cash Available for
Distributions Cdn$ $ 18,484 $ 11,579 $ 40,167 $ 30,532
------------------------- ----------------------
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Total Distributions - US$
Interest on IPS
Subordinated Notes US$ $ 1,105 $ 1,245 $ 4,469 $ 5,772
Dividends on IPS common
shares US$ $ 1,163 $ 1,286 $ 4,697 $ 5,970
Dividends on common
shares US$ $ 3,745 $ 4,030 $ 15,065 $ 10,531
------------------------- ----------------------
Total Distributions US$ $ 6,013 $ 6,561 $ 24,231 $ 22,273
------------------------- ----------------------
------------------------- ----------------------
Total Distributions $Cdn $ 7,277 $ 7,314 $ 29,120 $ 25,218
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Student Transportation's interim financial statements, notes to financial statements and management's discussion and analysis will be available at www.sedar.com or at the Company's website at www.rideSTA.com.
Conference Call & Webcast
Management will host a conference call and live audio webcast to discuss STA's performance for the fiscal year 2009 at
Profile
Founded in 1997, Student Transportation of America (STA) is North America's third-largest and fastest-growing provider of school bus transportation services, operating more than 6,300 vehicles. STA's family of local companies delivers safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation solutions to school districts throughout the U.S. and
* Non-GAAP Measures
EBITDAR is a non-GAAP financial measure, but management believes it is useful in measuring STA's performance. Readers are cautioned that this measure should not be construed as an alternative to net income or loss or other comparable measures determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of the Company's performance or as a measure of its liquidity and cash flow. The Company's method of calculating non-GAAP measures may differ from the methods used by other issuers and accordingly, the Company's non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other issuers.
Cash available for distributions is a non-GAAP measure, and is not intended to be representative of cash flow or results of operations determined in accordance with GAAP. Investors are cautioned that cash available for distribution, as calculated by the Company, is unlikely to be comparable to similar measures used by other issuers.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this news release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which reflect the expectations of management regarding, among other matters, STA's revenues, expense levels, cost of capital, financial leverage, seasonality, liquidity, profitability of new businesses acquired or secured through bids, borrowing availability, ability to renew or refinance various loan facilities as they become due, ability to execute STA's growth strategy and cash distributions, as well as their future growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "should", "plans" or "continue" or similar expressions, and the negative forms thereof, suggesting future outcomes or events.
These forward-looking statements reflect STA's current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not, or the times at or by which, such performance or results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the inability of STA to control its operating expenses, its significant capital expenditures, its reliance on certain key personnel, the possibility that a greater number of its employees will join unions, its acquisition strategy, its inability to achieve our business objectives, significant competition in its industry, rising insurance costs, new governmental laws and regulations, its lack of insurance coverage for certain losses, environmental requirements, seasonality of its industry, its inability to maintain letters of credit and performance bonds and the termination of certain of its contracts for reasons beyond its control. Material factors and assumptions that were relied upon in making the forward-looking statements include contract and customer retention, current and future expense levels, availability of quality acquisition, bid and conversion opportunities, current borrowing availability and financial ratios, as well as current and historical results of operations and performance. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what STA believes to be reasonable assumptions, investors cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and the differences may be material. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and STA assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, other than as required by applicable law.
For further information: INVESTOR CONTACTS: Student Transportation of America Ltd., Denis J. Gallagher, Chairman and CEO, (732) 280-4200; Patrick J. Walker, Executive VP and CFO, (732) 280-4200; Keith P. Engelbert, Director of Investor Relations, (732) 280-4200, (732) 280-4213 (FAX), Email: [email protected], Website: www.rideSTA.com
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